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History of USA
Revised Syllabus-First 10 topics
Ayesha Younas
11/19/2015

This document is compiled from numerous articles and research papers. Some of the references are
mentioned. I hope you make the best use of this hard work. Wish you all Best of Luck!
Compiled by Ayesha Younas

Syllabus
1) Introduction: From ancient times to 1492
2) Introduction: Advent of the Europeans to British supremacy (1492-1606)
3) USA as a British Colony (1606-1783).
4) USA as an Independent Country (1783 - 1819)
5) Expansion of USA: From 13 to 50 States (1820 - 1949)
6) Constitution of the USA: Salient Features
7) Civil War between the North and the East (1850 - 1869)
8) Industrialization and its emergence as one of the world powers (1870 -1916)
9) USAs role in the Two World Wars (1914 1918 & 1939 - 1945)
10) Post 1945 world scenario and emergence of USA and USSR as the Two World Powers.
11) American Role in patronizing UNO and International Organizations 1945 2012
12) American Role in Cold War and its emergence as the Sole Super Power (1945 -1990).
13) International Concerns of USA: An Overview.
14) The War on Terror: The Role of Pakistan and USA (2001 - 2012)
15) Global perceptions of the USA.
16) Progressive Era: Reforms of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson,
17) The Great Depression and the New Deal
18) Civil Rights Movement
19) United States role in International Conflicts
20) US Presidential Election
21) The US Congress: Role and Functions
22) Separation of Powers: Check and Balances

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Topic 1: Introduction:-From ancient times to 1492

1) Historical Background
i. 225 million years ago, Earth was one supercontinent (Pangaea) and ocean.
ii. About 10 million years ago, the North America that we know today was formed (geographical
shape).
iii. At the height of the Ice Age, between 34,000 and 30,000 B.C., much of the world's water was
contained in vast continental ice sheets.
iv. As a result, the Bering Sea was hundreds of meters below its current level, and a land bridge,
known as Beringia, emerged between Asia and North America.
v. At its peak, Beringia is thought to have been some 1,500 kilometers wide.
vi. A moist and treeless tundra, it was covered with grasses and plant life, attracting the large
animals that early humans hunted for their survival.
vii. The first people to reach North America almost certainly did so without knowing they had
crossed into a new continent.
viii. They would have been following game, as their ancestors had for thousands of years, along the
Siberian coast and then across the land bridge
ix. Once in Alaska, it would take these first North Americans thousands of years more to work their
way through the openings in great glaciers south to what is now the United States.
x. Artifacts such as finely crafted spear points and items found near Clovis, New Mexico, indicate
that life was well established in much of the Western Hemisphere by some time prior to 10,000
B.C.
2) New World Beginnings; The Early Settlements
i. Claims suggesting that the earliest voyages of exploration to North America were made by Irish
monks (St. Brendan), Welshmen (Prince Madoc) and others, but no credible evidence.
ii. The first discoverers of North America were nomadic Asians who wandered over here by way of
an exposed land bridge from Russia to Alaska during the Ice Age.
iii. 10th century America discovered by Norsemen, Scandinavians and Iceland colonized the west
coast of Greenland, and then in about 1001 moved on to Baffin Island, southern Labrador, and
finally the northern tip of Newfoundland
iv. In 1000 AD, Vikings abandoned it due to unfavorable conditions especially due to repeated
attacks by hostile natives (known to the Vikings as Skrellings); There, at a site now known as
L'Anse aux Meadows, they made an abortive effort to establish a colony which they called
Vinland.
v. Europeans, though, slowly began to proliferate into non-European worlds starting around the
1400s. Most European trade continued to center on the Mediterranean region, few resources
available for sailing westward, and new over-land trade routes to the Far East were established.
vi. Variety of factors affecting Europeans created renewed incentives for exploration.
3) Early Settlers in America
i. Great pre-European Indian cultures included the Pueblos, the Iroquois, the Mound Builders, the
Mayans, the Incas, the Aztec, and the Sioux, among others. The Indians revered nature and land,
and didnt carelessly destroy it. Everything was put to use.
ii. Hohokam, Adenans, Hopewellians, and Anasazi.
iii. By the first centuries A.D., the Hohokum were living in settlements near what is now Phoenix,
Arizona, where they built ball courts and pyramid-like mounds reminiscent of those found in
Mexico, as well as a canal and irrigation system.

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4) Early Indian Customs And Culture


i. Agriculture and Food
i. people to reach North America were Asian hunters and nomads
ii. Around that time the mammoth began to die out and the bison took its place as a
principal source of food and hides for these early North Americans.
iii. Gradually, foraging and the first attempts at agriculture appeared. Indians in what is
now central Mexico led the way, cultivating corn, squash and beans, perhaps as early as
8,000 B.C
iv. By 3,000 B.C., a primitive type of corn was being grown in the river valleys of New
Mexico and Arizona
v. Then the first signs of irrigation began to appear, and by 300 B.C., signs of early village
life.
ii. Culture
i. Indian society in North America was closely tied to the land.
ii. Most tribes (the Midwest) combined aspects of hunting, gathering and the cultivation of
maize and other products for their food supplies; They built villages and grew crops
iii. extraordinarily diverse; expanse of the land and the many different environments
iv. Indian life was essentially clan-oriented and communal
v. a good deal of trade among various groups
5) Important People:
i. The Aztecs: Native Americans who that lived in what is now Mexico and routinely offered their
gods human sacrifices, these people were violent, yet built amazing pyramids and built a great
civilization without having a wheel.
ii. The Mound Builders: Indians of the Ohio River Valley.
iii. The Mississippian settlement: At Cahokia, near present-day East St. Louis, Illinois, was home to
about 40,000 people in at 1100 A.D.
iv. Hiawatha: This was legendary leader who inspired the Iroquois, a powerful group of Native
Americans in the northeaster woodlands of the U.S.
v. The Norse: These Vikings discovered America in about 1000 A.D., when they discovered modern-
day Newfoundland. They abandoned it later due to bad conditions.
vi. Marco Polo: Italian adventurer who supposedly sailed to the Far East (China) in 1295 and
returned with stories and supplies of the Asian life there (silk, pearls, etc)
6) Conclusion

Topic 2: Introduction: Advent of the Europeans to British supremacy (1492-1606)

1) Introduction
2) Timeline
i. 1492: Christopher Columbus sails across the Atlantic Ocean and reaches an island in the Bahamas
in the Carribean sea
ii. 1496: 2nd Voyage of Columbus
iii. 1498: 3rd Voyage; John Cobalt sailed the Eastern shore near present day Worcester Country
iv. 1502: Columbuss 4th voyage
v. 1506: Death of Columbus
vi. 1507: America is first used on Italian Amerigo Vespucci
vii. 1513: Juan Ponce De Leon explores Florida coast

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viii. 1524: Giovanni de Verrazano explores the coast from Carolina North to Nova Scotia, enters new
York Harbour
ix. 1540: Francisco Vasquezde Coronado explores south west
x. 1541: Hernando de Soto of Spain discovers Mississipi River
xi. 1565: St Augustine, Florida, the first town established by Europeans in America is founded by
Spanish and later burned by English in 1586
xii. 1585: First Englisg settlement established at RANOKE ISLAND, NORTH CAROLINA
xiii. 1588: In Europe, the defeat of Spanish Armada by English results in Great Britain replacing Spain
as dominant world power and leads to gradual decline of Spanish influence in the New World
and widening of English imperial interests.
xiv. 1600: Nations interest in Americe
xv. 1606: King James I granted charter to Virginia company to establish colony
3) Early America
i. First Americans crossed the land bridge from Asia
ii. They Lived in (now) Alaska for 1000 years
iii. They moved south in todays mainland U.S.
iv. Lived by the Pacific Ocean in the Northwest, in mountains and deserts of South west and along
Mississipi River
v. Early Groups called; Adenans, Hopewillians, Anasazi and Hohokam.
vi. After Marco Polo came back with stories of China and its riches, Europeans began to explore.
First, they set up settlements in Africa, near the coast, where they used African slaves to work on
plantations.
vii. In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India, opening a sea route to the Far East.
viii. Complications and dangers of this eastern sea route influenced Christopher Columbus to sail
west. In doing so, he inadvertently discovered the Americas, though he never knew it.
ix. The Portuguese were first to settle in America, but the Spanish later became the dominant
nation in the Americas. Spanish Conquistadores swept through Latin and South America,
destroying the Aztecs and the Incas. Meanwhile, Magellans crew sailed around the world in
1519, becoming the first voyage to do so. As the chapter ended, Spain was very much in control
of much of the Americas, though other countries were beginning to challenge the Spanish
dominance.
4) Important People
i. Cristopher Columbus
i. Most Famous explorer
ii. Was an Italian, but Queen Isabella of Spain paid for his trips
iii. Landed in 1492 in Bahamas island near Carribean Sea
iv. Believed that sailing West across Atlantic Ocean was shortest route to asia
v. Ignorant of the Fact that western Hemisphere lay between Europe and Asia and
assuming circumference a third less than actual
vi. Convinced that Japan would appear on horizon just 3000 miles to west
ii. Native Americans; red Indians, Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas
iii. John Cabot
i. Explorer sailing for England, landed in Eastern Canada in 1497
ii. Arrival established a British claim to land in North America
5) Spanish Dominance in 1500s
i. Spain explored and claimed more land in America than any other country

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ii. In 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon landed in Florida


iii. A Florentine who sailed for the French, Verrazano made landfall in North Carolina in 1524, then
sailed north along the Atlantic coast past what is now New York harbor.
iv. Hernando De Soto landed in Florida and explored the way to Mississipi river in 1541
v. Spain conquered Mexico in 1522.
vi. Established by Spain in mid 1500s at St Augustine in Florida; Within 40 years, Spanish
adventurers had carved out a huge empire in Central and South America.
6) Englands Imperial Stirrings

i. North America
i. North America in 1600 was largely unclaimed, though the Spanish had much control in
Central and South America.
ii. Spain had only set up Santa Fe, while France had founded Quebec and Britain had
founded Jamestown.
iii. In the 1500s, Britain didnt really colonize because of internal conflicts.
1. King Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s and
launched the English Protestant Reformation.
2. After Elizabeth I became queen, Britain became basically Protestant, and a
rivalry with Catholic Spain intensified.
3. In Ireland, the Catholics sought Spains help in revolting against England, but
the English crushed the uprising with brutal atrocity, and developed an attitude
of sneering contempt for natives.
7) Elizabeth Energizes England
i. Colonization
i. After Britain basically defeated Spain (i.e. Spanish Armada defeat), British swarmed to
America and took over lead in colonization and power.
1. Sparked new literature, like Shakespeare
ii. After Drake circumnavigated the globe, Liz I knighted him on his ship.
iii. However, English tries at colonization in the New World failed often and embarrassingly.
iv. Britain and Spain finally signed a peace treaty in 1604.
8) England on the Eve of the Empire
i. Reasons for Emigration
i. In the 1500s, Britains population was mushrooming.
ii. Farmers were enclosing land for farming.
iii. Puritanism took a strong root in the woolen districts of western and eastern England.
iv. Younger sons of rich folk (who couldnt inherit money) tried their luck with fortunes
elsewhere, like America.
v. By the 1600s, the joint-stock company was perfected, being a forerunner to todays
corporations.
9) England Plants the Jamestown Seedling; First European Settlement

i. Jamestown
i. In 1606, the Virginia Company received a charter from King James I to make a
settlement in the New World.
ii. However, story of colonization started from settlement farther North along the Atlantic
Coast in Virginia, Massachusetts, NY and 10 other areas due to the growing tide of
immigrants from Europe.
10) Conclusion

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Topic 3: USA as a British Colony (1606-1783)

1) Introduction
2) England Plants the Jamestown Seedling
a. Jamestown
i. In 1606, the Virginia Company received a charter from King James I to make a
settlement in the New World.
b. The charter of the Virginia Company guaranteed settlers the same rights as Englishmen in Britain.
1. On May 24, 1607, about a 100 English settlers disembarked from their ship and
founded Jamestown.
a. Forty colonists perished during the voyage.
b. In mosquito-ridden Virginia, disease was rampant. It didnt help that a supply
ship shipwrecked in the Bahamas in 1609 either.
2. Luckily, in 1608, a Captain John Smith took over control and whipped the colonists
into discipline.
a. He had been kidnapped by local Indians and forced into a mock execution by
the chief Powhatan and had been saved by Pocahantas.
b. The act was meant to show that Powhatan wanted peaceful relations with the
colonists.
3. Still, the colonists were reduced to eating cats, dogs, rats, even other people.
4. Finally, in 1610, a relief party headed by Lord De La Warr arrived to alleviate the
suffering.
5. By 1625, out of an original overall total of 8000 would-be settlers, only 1200 had
survived.
3) Cultural Clash in the Chesapeake
B. The Indians Begin to Lose Power
1. At first, Powhatan possibly considered the new colonists potential allies and tried to
be friendly with them, but as time passed and colonists raided Indian food supplies,
relations deteriorated and eventually, war occurred.
2. The First Anglo-Powhatan War ended in 1614 with a peace settlement sealed by the
marriage of Pocahontas to colonist John Rolfe.
3. Eight years later, in 1622, the Indians struck again with a series of attacks that left
347 settlers, including John Rolfe, dead.
4. The Second Anglo-Powhatan War began in 1644, ended in 1646, and effectively
banished the Chesapeake Indians from their ancestral lands.
5. After the settlers began to grow their own food, the Indians were useless, and were
therefore banished.
4) Virginia: Child of Tobacco
C. Tobacco Info
1. Tobacco created a greed for land, since it heavily depleted soil and ruined the land.
2. King James I detested tobacco.
3. Representative self-government was born in Virginia, when in 1619, settlers created
the House of Burgesses.
4. Slavery in the Americas was also born in 1619.
5) Maryland: Catholic Heaven
D. Religious Diversity
1. Founded in 1634 by Lord Baltimore, Maryland was the second plantation colony and
the fourth overall colony to be formed.
2. It was a place for persecuted Catholics to find refuge.
3. However, Maryland prospered with tobacco.
4. It had a lot of indentured servants. Black slavery became popular
6) The West Indies: Way Station to Mainland America
E. Their Use

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1. As the British were colonizing Virginia, they were also settling in the West Indies
(Spains declining power opened the door).
2. By mid-1600s, England had secured claim to several West Indies islands, including
Jamaica in 1655.
7) Colonizing the Carolinas
F. Restoration Period
1. In England, King Charles I had been beheaded. Oliver Cromwell had ruled for ten
years before tired Englishmen restored Charles II to the throne.
2. The bloody period had interrupted colonization.
3. Carolina was named after Charles II, and was formally created in 1670.
4. Carolina flourished by developing close economic ties with the West Indies.
5. Many original Carolina settlers had come from Barbados.
6. Despite violence with Spanish and Indians, Carolina proved to be too strong to be
wiped out.
8) The Emergence of North Carolina
G. Conflict
1. Many newcomers to Carolina were squatters, people who owned no land.
2. North Carolinians developed a strong resistant to authority, due to geographic
isolation from neighbors.
3. In 1712, North and South Carolina were officially separated.
9) Late-Coming Georgia: The Buffer Colony
H. Georgias Purpose
1. Georgia was intended to be a buffer between the British colonies and the hostile
Spanish settlements in Florida and the enemy French in Louisiana.
2. Founded in 1733 by a high-minded group of philanthropists, it was the last colony
founded.
3. Named after King George II of England, Georgia was also meant to be a haven for
wretched souls in debt.
4. James Oglethorpe, the ablest of the founders and a dynamic soldier-statesman,
repelled Spanish attacks.
5. All Christians except Catholics enjoyed religious toleration, and many missionaries
came to try to convert the Indians.
a. John Wesley was one of them, and he later returned to England and founded
Methodism.
6. Georgia grew very slowly.
10) The Plantion Colonies
I. Comparisons and Contrasts
1. Slavery was found in all the plantation colonies.
2. Growth of cities was often stunted by forests.
3. Establishment of schools and churches was difficult.
4. In the South, the crops were tobacco and rice.
5. All the plantation colonies permitted some religious toleration.
6. Confrontations with Native Americans was often.
11) France Finds a Foothold in Canada
a. Like England and Holland, France was a latecomer in the colony race.
i. It was convulsed in the 1500s by foreign wars and domestic strife.
ii. In 1598, the Edict of Nantes was issued, allowing limited toleration to the French
Huguenots.
b. When King Louis XIV became king, he took an interest in overseas colonies.
c. In 1608, France established Quebec, overlooking the St. Lawrence River.
d. Samuel de Champlain, an intrepid soldier and explorer, became known as the Father of New
France. He entered into friendly relations with the neighboring Huron Indians and helped them
defeated the Iroquois.

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e. Unlike English colonists, French colonists didnt immigrate to North America by hordes. The
peasants were too poor, and the Huguenots werent allowed to leave.
12) New France Fans Out
a. New Frances (Canada) one valuable resource was the beaver.
b. French Catholic missionaries zealously tried to convert Indians.
c. To thwart English settlers from pushing into the Ohio Valley, Antoine Cadillac founded Detroit
(city of straits) in 1701.
d. Louisiana was founded, in 1682, by Robert de La Salle, to thwart Spanish expansion into the area
near the Gulf of Mexico.
e. The fertile Illinois country, where the French established forts and trading posts at Kaskaskia,
Cahokia, and Vincennes, became the garden of Frances North American empire.
13) The Clash of Empires
a. King Williams War and Queen Annes War (two different fights)
i. The English colonists fought the French coureurs de bois and their Indian allies.
ii. Neither side considered America important enough to waste real troops on.
iii. The peace deal in Utrecht in 1713 gave Acadia (renamed Nova Scotia), Newfoundland,
and Hudson Bay to England, pinching the French settlements by the St. Lawrence. It
also gave Britain limited trading rights with Spanish America.
b. The War of Jenkins Ear
i. An English Captain named Jenkins had his ear cut off by a Spanish commander, who had
sneered at him to go home crying (essentially).
ii. This war was confined to the Caribbean Sea and Georgia.
iii. This war soon merged with the War of Austrian Succession and came to be called King
Georges War in America.
iv. France allied itself with Spain, but Englands troops captured the reputed impregnable
fortress of Cap Breton Island.
v. However, peace terms of this war gave Louisbourg, which the New Englanders had
captured, back to France, outraging the colonists, which feared it.
c. George Washington Inaugurates War with France
i. The Ohio Valley became a battleground among the Spanish, British, and French.
ii. It was lush and very good land.
iii. In 1754, the governor of Virginia sent 21 year-old George Washington to the Ohio
country as a lieutenant colonel in command of about 150 Virginia minutemen.
iv. He was permitted to march his men away with the full honors of war.
14) Global War and Colonial Disunity
a. The fourth of these wars between empires started in America, unlike the first three.
b. The French and Indian War (aka Seven Years War) began with Washingtons battle with the
French.
c. It was England and Prussia vs. France, Spain, Austria, and Russia.
d. In previous wars, the Americans were not unified, but now they were.
e. In 1754, an intercolonial congress was held in Albany, New York.
f. Franklin helped unite the colonists in Albany, but the Albany plan failed because it compromised
too much.
g. The 1759 Battle of Quebec ranks as one of the most significant engagements in British and
American history, and when Montreal fell in 1760, that was the last time French flags would fly
on American soil.
h. In the peace treaty at Paris in 1763, Britain got all of Canada, but the French were allowed to
retain several small but valuable sugar islands in the West Indies and two never-to-be-fortified
islets in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for fishing stations.
i. Frances final blow came when they gave Louisiana to Spain to compensate for Spains losses in
the war.
j. Great Britain took its place as the leading naval power in the world, and a great power in North
America.

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15) Restless Colonials


a. The colonists, having experienced war firsthand and come out victors, were very confident.
However, the myth of British invincibility had been shattered.
b. Ominously, friction developed between the British officers and the colonial boors.
c. During the French and Indian War, though, Americans from different parts of the colonies found,
surprisingly to them, that they had a lot in common (language, ideals), and barriers of disunity
began to melt.
16) Americans: A People of Destiny
a. Now that the French had been beaten, the colonists could now roam freely, and were less
dependent upon Great Britain.
b. The French consoled themselves with the thought that if they could lose such a great empire,
maybe the British would one day lose theirs too.
c. Spain was eliminated from Florida, and the Indians could no longer play the European powers
against each other, since it was only Great Britain in control now.
d. Now, land-hungry Americans could now settle west of the Appalachians, but in 1763, Parliament
issued its Proclamation of 1763, prohibiting any settlement in the area beyond the Appalachians.
e. In 1765, an estimated on thousand wagons rolled through the town of Salisbury, North Carolina,
on their way up west in defiance of the Proclamation.
f. The British, proud and haughty, were in no way to accept this blatant disobedience by the lowly
Americans, and the stage was set for the Revolutionary War.
g. In 1700, there were about 250,000 European and African settlers in North Americas thirteen
English colonies. By 1775, on the eve of revolution, there were nearly 2.5 million. These colonists
did not have much in common, but they were able to band together and fight for their
independence.
17) Causes of Colonization
a. Improvement in Technology
b. Renaissance in Europe
c. Religious Conflicts in Europe
d. Expanding trade
e. Search for New Routes
f. Pressure of population
g. Trade and Agriculture
h. Desire for wealth
i. Imperial Rac; Imperialistic Designs and Aims
j. Royal Proclamation; Treaty of Westphalia was signed in 1648, between Spain and Dutch republic
by which each state would have the right to determine the religion of his own state and also
colonial claims were adjusted.
18) Conclusion

Topic 4: USA as an Independent Country (1783 - 1819)

1) Introduction
I. As a result of the Treaty of Paris of 1783, the new nation controlled all of North America from the
Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River between Canada and Florida. Canada, to the north,
remained British territory. Great Britain returned Florida to Spain, and Spain continued to control
the area west of the Mississippi River.
II. The original 13 colonies made up the first 13 states of the United States. Eventually, the
American land west of the Appalachian Mountains was divided into territories.
III. At the end of the American Revolution, the new nation was still a loose confederation of states.
But in 1787, American leaders got together and wrote the Constitution of the United States. The
Constitution became the country's basic law and welded it together into a solid political unit. The

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men who wrote it included some of the most famous and important figures in American history.
Among them were George Washington and James Madison of Virginia, Alexander Hamilton of
New York, and Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania. The authors of the Constitution, along with
other early leaders such as Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, won lasting fame as the Founding
Fathers of the United States.
IV. At the start of its history, the United States faced severe financial problems. But before long, the
skill of its leaders and the spirit and hard work of its people put the country on a sound economic
footing. Early America also faced threats from powerful European nations. ut masterful
diplomacy by Washington and other leaders guided the country through its early years in peace.
The peace ended with the War of 1812, in which the United States and Great Britain fought
again. After the war, America focused its attention on its development, and entered a period of
bustling economic growth.
2) Establishing a government: The American people began setting up a new system of government as soon
as they declared their independence. Each of the new states had its own constitution before the American
Revolution ended. The state constitutions gave the people certain liberties, usually including freedom of
speech, religion, and the press. In 1781, the states set up a federal government under laws called the
Articles of Confederation.
3) Background to the Constitution.
I. The Articles of Confederation gave the federal government the power to declare war and
manage foreign affairs. But the Articles did not allow the government to collect taxes, regulate
trade, or otherwise direct the activities of the states.
II. Under the Articles, each state worked independently for its own ends. Yet the new nation faced
problems that demanded a strong federal government. The United States had piled up a huge
national debt during the American Revolution. But since the federal government could not
collect taxes, it was unable to pay the debt and put the country on a sound economic footing.
The government even lacked the means for raising money to provide for national defence. The
federal government had no power to regulate the nation's trade. In addition, some states issued
their own paper money, causing sharp changes in the value of currency and economic chaos.
4) Creating the Constitution.
I. In 1787, delegates from every state except Rhode Island met in Philadelphia to consider revisions
to the Articles of Confederation. The delegates agreed to write an entirely new Constitution.
II. The delegates debated long and hard over the contents of the Constitution. Some of them
wanted a document that gave much power to the federal government. Others wanted to protect
the rights of the states and called for a weak central government. Delegates from large states
claimed their states should have greater representation in Congress than the small states. But
small-state delegates demanded equal representation in Congress.
III. The delegates finally reached agreement on a new Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. The document
they produced has often been called a work of political genius. The authors worked out a system
of government that satisfied the opposing views of the people of the 1780's. At the same time,
they created a system of government flexible enough to continue in its basic form to the present
day.
IV. The Constitution provided for a two-house legislature--a House of Representatives and a Senate.
Representation in the House was based on population in order to satisfy the large states. All
states received equal representation in the Senate, which pleased the small states. The
Constitution gave many powers to the federal government, including the rights to collect taxes
and regulate trade. But the document also reserved certain powers for the states. The

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Constitution provided for three branches of government: the executive, headed by a president;
the legislature, made up of the two houses of Congress; and the judiciary, or federal court
system. The creators of the Constitution provided for a system of checks and balances among the
three branches of government. Each branch received powers and duties that ensured that the
other branches would not have too much power.
5) Adopting the Constitution: Before the Constitution became law, it needed ratification (approval) by nine
states. Some Americans still opposed the Constitution, and fierce debate over ratification broke out.
Finally, on June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify.
6) The Bill of Rights: Much opposition to the new Constitution stemmed from the fact that it did not
specifically guarantee enough individual rights. In response, 10 amendments known as the Bill of Rights
were added to the document. The Bill of Rights became law on Dec. 15, 1791. Among other things, it
guaranteed freedom of speech, religion, the press, and the rights to trial by jury and peaceful assembly.
7) Setting up the government: The Constitution provided that the president be elected by an Electoral
College, a group of people chosen by the states. In 1789, the Electoral College unani-mously chose
Washington to serve as the first president. It reelected him unanimously in 1792. The government went
into operation in 1789, with its temporary capital in New York City. The capital was moved to Philadelphia
in 1790, and to Washington, D.C., in 1800.
8) Early problems and politics: Solving financial problems.
I. Americans were divided over how to deal with the financial problems that plagued the new
government. One group, led by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, wanted the
federal government to take vigorous action. Another group, headed by Secretary of State
Thomas Jefferson, opposed government participation in economic affairs.
II. Hamilton proposed that the federal government increase tariffs and tax certain products made in
the United States. The government would use the tax money to pay both its debts and the debts
of the states. Hamilton also proposed a government-supported national bank to control
government finances.
III. Jefferson and his followers, who included many Southerners, finally agreed to support some of
Hamilton's financial proposals. In return, Hamilton agreed to support a shift of the national
capital to the South. Congress approved Hamilton's financial plan and agreed to locate the capital
in the South. As a result of this compromise, the capital moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800.
Jefferson continued to oppose the national bank proposal. But in 1791, Congress chartered a
national bank for 20 years.
9) Early problems and politics: Foreign affairs.
I. The new government also faced problems in foreign affairs. In 1793, France went to war against
Britain and Spain. France had helped the Americans in the American Revolution, and it now
expected U.S. assistance in its war. Americans disagreed over which side to support. Jefferson
and his followers wanted the United States to back France, while Hamilton and his group
favoured the British.
II. President Washington insisted that the United States remain neutral in the European war. He
rejected French demands for support, and also sent diplomats to Britain and Spain to clear up
problems with those countries. Chief Justice John Jay, acting for Washington, negotiated the Jay
Treaty with Britain in 1794. The treaty's many provisions included a trade agreement with Britain
which--in effect--ended American trade with France. It also included a British promise to remove
troops still stationed on U.S. territory. In 1795, Thomas Pinckney negotiated the Pinckney Treaty,
or Treaty of San Lorenzo, with Spain. This treaty settled a dispute over the Florida border

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between the United States and Spain and also gave the United States free use of the Mississippi
River.
III. In 1796, Washington--annoyed by the disputes within his Administration--refused to seek a third
term as president. John Adams succeeded him in 1797. At about that time, French warships
began attacking American merchant vessels. Adams, like Washington, hoped to use diplomacy to
solve foreign problems. He sent diplomats to France to try to end the attacks. But three agents of
the French government insulted the diplomats with dishonourable proposals, including a
demand for a bribe. The identity of the agents was not revealed. They were simply called X, Y,
and Z, and the incident became known as the XYZ Affair.
IV. The XYZ Affair created a furore in the United States. Hamilton and his followers demanded war
against France. But Adams was determined to keep the peace. In 1799, he again sent diplomats
to France. This time, the United States and France reached a peaceful settlement.
10) Establishing political parties: Washington and many other early American leaders opposed political
parties. But in the 1790's, the disputes over government policies led to the establishment of two political
parties in the United States. Hamilton and his followers, chiefly Northerners, formed the Federalist Party.
The party favoured a strong federal government and generally backed Great Britain in international
disputes. Jefferson and his followers, chiefly Southerners, established the Democratic-Republican Party.
The party wanted a weak central government and generally sided with France in foreign disputes.
11) The Alien and Sedition Acts.
I. The XYZ Affair had a major impact on American internal policies and politics. After the affair, the
Federalist Party denounced the Democratic-Republicans for their support of France. The
Federalists had a majority in Congress. They set out to silence their critics, who included
Democratic-Republicans and foreigners living in the United States. In 1798, the Federalist
Congress and President Adams--also a Federalist--approved the Alien and Sedition Acts. These
laws made it a crime for anyone to criticize the president or Congress, and subjected foreigners
to unequal treatment.
II. A nationwide outcry against these attacks on freedom followed. The most offensive parts of the
Acts soon expired or were repealed. However, the Alien and Sedition Acts gave the Federalists
the reputation as a party of oppression.
12) Jeffersonian democracy
I. Public reaction to the Alien and Sedition Acts helped Thomas Jefferson win election as president
in 1800 and again in 1804. Jefferson's political philosophy became known as Jeffersonian
democracy. Jefferson envisioned the United States as a nation of small farmers. In Jefferson's
ideal society, the people would lead simple, but productive, lives and be able to direct their own
affairs. Therefore, the need for government would decline. Jefferson took steps to reduce
government expenses and the national debt. But in spite of his beliefs and practices, Jefferson
found that as president he could not avoid actions that expanded the role of government.
II. The Louisiana Purchase, the first major action of Jefferson's presidency, almost doubled the size
of the United States. In 1801, Jefferson learned that France had taken over from Spain a large
area between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains called Louisiana. Spain was a weak
nation, and did not pose a threat to the United States. But France--then ruled by Napoleon
Bonaparte--was powerful and aggressive. Jefferson viewed French control of Louisiana as a
danger to the United States.
III. In 1803, Jefferson arranged the purchase of the area from France. The Louisiana Purchase added
2,144,476 square kilometres of territory to the United States.
13) Jefferson and foreign policy.

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I. In 1803, Great Britain and France went to war again, and both nations began seizing American
merchant ships. The British also impressed American seamen, seizing them and forcing them into
British service.
II. Jefferson again found it necessary to use government powers, this time to protect American
shipping. At his request, Congress passed trade laws designed to stop the British and French
interfering with American trade. But the warring nations continued to interfere.
14) The War of 1812
I. James Madison succeeded Jefferson as president in 1809. France soon promised to end its
interference with American shipping, but Britain did not. Also, people believed the British were
encouraging Indians to attack American pioneers moving westward. For these reasons, many
Americans demanded war against Britain. They were led by members of Congress from the West
and South called War Hawks. Other Americans, especially New Englanders, opposed the War
Hawks' demand. But on June 18, 1812, at Madison's request, Congress declared war on Britain
and the War of 1812 had begun.
II. Neither side gained much advantage early in the war. But on Aug. 24, 1814, British troops
captured Washington, D.C., and burned the Capitol and other government buildings. This British
action made Americans realize their nation's survival was at stake. Large numbers of American
volunteers rushed into service, and helped stop the British offensive. The Treaty of Ghent of Dec.
24, 1814, officially ended the War of 1812. Neither side won the war and little was gained from
the struggle.
15) Growing nationalism: A strong spirit of nationalism swept through the United States following the War of
1812. The war itself gave rise to increased feelings of self-confidence and unity. The peace that followed
enabled the nation to concentrate on its own affairs. The bitterness that had marked political disputes
eased with the breakup of the Federalist Party. Meanwhile, the nation expanded westward, new states
entered the union, and the economy prospered. Historians sometimes call the period from about 1815 to
the early 1820's The Era of Good Feeling because of its relative peace, unity, and optimism.
16) Nationalism and the economy.
I. After the War of 1812, nationalist politicians proposed economic measures that came to be
called the American System. They said the government should raise tariffs to protect American
manufacturers and farmers from foreign competition. Industry would then grow and employ
more people. More employment would lead to greater consumption of farm products, and so
farmers would prosper and buy more manufactured goods. In addition, tariff revenues would
enable the government to make needed internal improvements.
II. The government soon put ideas of the American System into practice. In 1816, Congress enacted
a high tariff, and it chartered the second Bank of the United States, to give the government more
control over the economy. The government also increased its funding of internal projects, the
most important of which was the National Road. Begun in 1811, the road stretched from
Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois, when completed. It became an important route for
the shipment of goods and the movement of settlers westward.
17) A national culture. Many early Americans had tried to model their culture on European civilization.
Architects, painters, and writers tended to imitate European models. But in the late 1700's and early
1800's, art and culture more and more reflected American experiences. Architects designed simple, but
beautiful, houses that blended into their surroundings. Craftworkers built sturdy furniture that was suited
to frontier life, yet so simply elegant as to be considered works of art. The nation's literature flourished
when it began reflecting American experiences. Political writings such as the works of Thomas Paine had

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high literary merit. The works of Washington Irving, one of the leading early authors, helped gain respect
for American literature.
18) Decline of the Federalists. In 1814 and 1815, New England Federalists held a secret political meeting in
Hartford, Connecticut. Their opponents charged that they had discussed the secession (withdrawal) of the
New England States from the Union. The Federalists never recovered from the charge, and the party
broke up in about 1816. James Monroe, the Democratic-Republican presidential candidate in the election
of 1820, was unopposed.
19) New territory. The United States gained two new pieces of territory between 1815 and 1820. In 1818, a
treaty with Britain gave the country the Red River Basin, north of the Louisiana Territory. Spain ceded
Florida to the United States in 1819.
20) "A fire bell in the night." The Era of Good Feeling did not mean an end to all the country's disputes. The
issue of slavery was causing deep divisions among the people. Many Northerners were demanding an end
to slavery, while Southerners were defending it more and more. Jefferson, then retired, accurately viewed
the growing dispute as a warning of approaching disaster, "like a fire bell in the night."

Topic 5: Expansion of USA: From 13 to 50 States (1820 - 1949)

1) Introduction
i. Between 1821 and 1859, the following States became part of the Union: Missouri (1821),
Arkansas (1836), Michigan (1837), Texas (1845), Florida (1845), Iowa (1846), Wisconsin (1848),
California (1850), Minnesota (1858) and Oregon (1859). Kansas (1861), Nevada (1864), Nebraska
(1867), Colorado (1876), Dakota Territory was split in two (1889),; Montana Territory (1889),
Washington (1889), Idaho (1890), Wyoming (1890), Utah(1896), Oklahoma (1907), New Mexico
(1912), Arizona (1912), Alaska (1959)
2) Fate of Indian Territories
i. In the 1820s, the USA government began moving what it called the "Five Civilized Tribes" of
South East America (Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Choctaw, and Chickasaw) to lands west of the
Mississippi River.
ii. The 1830 Indian Removal Act gave the President authority to designate specific lands for the
Indians (native Americans).
iii. The 1834 Indian Intercourse Act called the lands Indian Territory and specified where they were:
all of present-day Oklahoma North and East of the Red River, as well as Kansas and Nebraska.
iv. But, in 1854 the territory was cut down when Kansas and Nebraska territories were created.
White settlers continued to invade the West and half the remaining Indian Territory (West
Oklahoma) was opened to whites in 1889.
v. In 1907 Oklahoma became a state of the USA, and Indian Territory was no more.
3) Timeline
i. August 10, 1821; The southeastern corner of Missouri Territory was admitted to the US as the
24th state, Missouri. The remainder became unorganized. Missouri did not include its
northwestern triangle at this point, that being added later in the Platte Purchase
ii. October 4, 1824; The 1824 Constitution of Mexico was enacted, creating the United Mexican
States and replacing the Mexican Empire, which had collapsed on March 19, 1823.
iii. November 15, 1824; Arkansas Territory was shrunk, the western portion becoming unorganized
iv. June 30, 1834: A large portion of unorganized land was added to Michigan Territory,
corresponding to present-day Iowa, western Minnesota, and eastern North Dakota and South
Dakota.
v. June 15, 1836: Arkansas Territory was admitted to the US as the 25th state, Arkansas. It
continued to claim Miller County, with increasing irrelevance.
vi. March 2, 1836: The Treaties of Velasco signified the end of the Texas Revolution on May 14,
1836, creating the Republic of Texas.

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vii. July 4, 1836: Wisconsin Territory was split off from Michigan Territory, consisting of present-day
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and eastern North and South Dakota.
viii. January 26, 1837: Michigan Territory was admitted to the US as the 26th state, Michigan
ix. March 3, 1845: Florida Territory was admitted to the US as the 27th state, Florida.
x. December 29, 1845: The Republic of Texas was admitted to the US as the 28th state, Texas.
xi. December 28, 1846: The southeast portion of Iowa Territory was admitted to the US as the 29th
state, Iowa. The remainder became unorganized.
xii. May 29, 1848: The southeastern portion of Wisconsin Territory was admitted to the US as the
30th state, Wisconsin. The remainder became unorganized.
xiii. March 2, 1853: Washington Territory was split from Oregon Territory, consisting of present-day
Washington, northern Idaho, and the western tip of Montana, leaving Oregon Territory with all
of Oregon, southern Idaho and a portion of Wyoming.
xiv. May 11, 1858: The eastern portion of Minnesota Territory was admitted to the US as the 32nd
state, Minnesota.
xv. February 14, 1859: The western portion of Oregon Territory was admitted to the US as the 33rd
state, Oregon.
xvi. January 29, 1861: The eastern portion of Kansas Territory was admitted as the 34th state,
Kansas.
xvii. March 4, 1861: The Confederate States of America (CSA) was formed. The Southern states
seceded at different dates and joined the CSA at different dates; Its claim to be a separate
country was later denied by its surrender at the end of the Civil War.
xviii. March 4, 1863: Idaho Territory was created from portions of Washington, Dakota, and Nebraska
Territories, consisting of present-day Idaho, Montana, and most of Wyoming.
xix. October 31, 1864: Nevada Territory was admitted to the US as the 36th state, Nevada
xx. March 1, 1867; Nebraska Territory was admitted to the US as the 37th state, Nebraska.
xxi. August 1, 1876: Colorado Territory was admitted to the US as the 38th state, Colorado.
xxii. November 2, 1889; Dakota Territory was split in two, and it was admitted to the US as the 39th
state, North Dakota, and 40th state, South Dakota.
xxiii. November 8, 1889; Montana Territory was admitted to the US as the 41st state, Montana.
xxiv. November 11, 1889; Washington Territory was admitted to the US as the 42nd state,
Washington.
xxv. July 3, 1890; Idaho Territory was admitted to the US as the 43rd state, Idaho.
xxvi. July 10, 1890; Wyoming Territory was admitted to the US as the 44th state, Wyoming.
xxvii. January 4, 1896: Utah Territory was admitted to the US as the 45th state, Utah.
xxviii. November 16, 1907: Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were combined and admitted to
the US as the 46th state, Oklahoma.
xxix. January 6, 1912: New Mexico Territory was admitted to the US as the 47th state, New Mexico.
xxx. February 14, 1912: Arizona Territory was admitted to the US as the 48th state, Arizona.
xxxi. 1948: Air Force Island, Prince Charles Island, and Foley Island are discovered and added to
Northwest Territories.
xxxii. January 3, 1959: Alaska Territory was admitted to the US as the 49th state, Alaska.
4) Conclusion

Topic 6: Constitution of the USA: Salient Features

1) Introduction
i. A Constitution consists of those fundamental rules which determine & distribute functions &
powers among the various organs of the Government
ii. Adopted at Philadelphia convention held in 1787; Came into force in 1789; Originally 7 articles,
but 26 amendments so far

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iii. Classic example of rigidity; Theory of separation of powers combined with remarkable system of
checks and balance
iv. Lord Bryce remarked; yet after all deductions, it ranks above every other written constitution
for the intrinsic excellence of its scheme, its adaptation to the circumstances of the people, its
simplicity and precision of language, its judicious mixture of definiteness in principles with
elasticity in details.
2) Salient Features
i. Bill of Rights: Constitution guarantees fundamental rights of person, property and liberty,
Incorporated in the first ten amendments. Rights of citizens are enforceable by the recourse of
judiciary, these rights cannot be modified or suspended except by a constitutional amendment.
Part and Parcel of constitution;
i. Freedom of Speech
ii. Freedom of Worship
iii. Habeas Corpus
iv. No unreasonable search
v. No unreasonable seizure
ii. Checks and Balances: One of the most powerful weapons in the US constitution which makes it
one of the most important written documents in world is the system of check and balance
between the three tiers of state i.e. executive, legislative and judiciary.
iii. Brief & Simple: The US Constitution hardly consists of 6000 and is less than 12 pages in length
which makes it one of the shortest and simply written constitutions of the world.
iv. Written Constitution: The US constitution is in the written form and comprises of 7 articles and
27 amendments had been made since the constitution was made in 1787.
v. Dual Citizenship: The peoples living in America are authorized to have dual citizenship according
to their constitution. The 1st citizenship of being an American and the 2nd is of the state which a
citizen belongs to.
vi. Secular State: Since the constitution declares America as a secular state. Therefore no law can
be made which prohibits or dents any religion in the country.
vii. Supremacy of the Constitution: The US Constitution is the supreme document as described in
the article IV. The constitution is declared superior over the entire citizens, law making agencies
and the government. No law can be passed contrary to the constitution.
viii. Strong Federation: Article I, section 789 declares the federal form of government in America.
The stress is laid upon the strong center and relatively weaker states. Bill Of Rights: Bill of
rights were the 1st ten amendments in the US constitution which defined the rights of the
peoples living in America.
ix. Rigid Constitution: US constitution is a rigid constitution because it requires a difficult procedure
to amend it. Every amendment, which can be moved in two different ways, must be ratified by
three-fourths of the states. consequently, stood the rigors of industrial of industrial revolution
and democratic upsurge, the turmoil of civil and global wars and economic crises of thirties.
x. Separation of Powers: The constitution is based on the doctrine of separation of powers.
According to the constitution the national powers are divided into three departments i.e.
executive, legislature and judiciary.
xi. Bicameralism: American parliament is known as Congress. It consists of two chambers. Upper
house is the Senate and lower house is the House of Representatives.
xii. Independent Judiciary: The president of USA appoints the judges but he has no power to
remove them. It is only the legislature according to Article 1 Section 6, which can impeach the
judge of Supreme Court.
xiii. Universal Suffrage: The Constitution has given right to vote to every citizen who is 18 years old
without any distinction of male or female. Division of Powers: As the Federal Government

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requires a double set of Government. That of center and those of states there must be a division
of powers between the two parts. All those powers which are not stated in the constitution are
to be exercised by the states.
xiv. Spoils System: This system was introduced by President Andrew Jackson. According to this
system the new president appoints all important official of the government sacking the previous
administration. This system is known as the Spoilt System because the jobs are distributed
among the party men regardless of their merit, experience and talent.
xv. Presidential form of government: The Constitution establishes a presidential form of
government. The constitution vests all executive powers to the president .The president is the
head of the state as well as the government.
xvi. Republicanism: There would be Republicanism in the political structure of the US. Laws made by
the legislature shall be supreme as it represents the will of the people. The people who made
those laws are elected by the people themselves. Sovereignty of the People: The preamble of
the US Constitution emphasizes the theory of popular sovereignty i.e. the ultimate authority has
been vested in the people of the USA.
xvii. Popular Sovereignty: We the people of U.S., ultimate sovereignty is thus attributed to people
xviii. Dual Citizenship: An American is the citizen of U.S and also of the State, where he is domiciled
3) Amendments in American Constitution
i. 1st Ten Bill of Rights
ii. 11th Immunity of states from suits from out-of-state citizens and foreigners not living within the
state borders. Lays the foundation for sovereign immunity
iii. 12th Revises presidential election procedures
iv. 13th Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime 14th Defines
citizenship, contains the Privileges or Immunities Clause, the Due Process Clause, the Equal
Protection Clause, and deals with post-Civil War issues
v. 15th Prohibits the denial of suffrage based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude
vi. 16th Allows the federal government to collect income tax
vii. 17th Establishes the direct election of United States Senators by popular vote
viii. 18th Establishes Prohibition of alcohol (Repealed by Twenty-first Amendment)
ix. 19th Establishes women's suffrage
x. 20th Fixes the dates of term commencements for Congress (January 3) and the President
(January 20); known as the "lame duck amendment"
xi. 21st Repeals the Eighteenth Amendment
xii. 22nd Limits the president to two terms, or a maximum of 10 years (i.e., if a Vice President serves
not more than one half of a President's term, he or she can be elected to a further two terms)
xiii. 23rd Provides for representation of Washington, D.C. in the Electoral College
xiv. 24th Prohibits the revocation of voting rights due to the non-payment of poll taxes
xv. 25th Codifies the Tyler Precedent; defines the process of presidential succession
xvi. 26th Establishes the official voting age to be 18 years old.
xvii. 27th Prevents laws affecting Congressional salary from taking effect until the beginning of the
next session of Congress.

Topic 7: Civil War between the North and the East (1850 - 1869)

I. Civil War
i. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States. He defeated Stephen
Douglas because of the greater northern population. Southerners were angered by the growing
abolitionist movement, and when Lincoln was elected, they feared that their way of life was in

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jeopardy. South Carolina seceded on December 20, 1860. Within the next two weeks, six other
southern states had left the union (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas).
Little did people know that a very bloody four year war was to come.
II. PEOPLE
i. North(Union), South(Confederacy)
ii. Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis , Robert E Lee , Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
iii. U.S. Grant: William T Sherman
III. Causes Leading to Civil war
i. Election of Lincoln
ii. Discrimination of race
iii. Slavery
iv. The abolitionist (people who wanted to stop slavery) movement
v. Difference in economy
vi. Western expansion
IV. Consequences of the Civil War
i. Physical Devastation: The American Civil War lasted four years. Measured in physical devastation
and human lives, it was the costliest war the American people have experienced the war killed
over 620,000 men and at least that many more had been wounded in a nation of about 35
million.
ii. Spread of Disease and Sickness: North lost a total of about 364,000 soldiers (nearly one of every
four soldiers). Also more than 37,000 black soldiers lost their lives fighting for freedom during the
American Civil War. The conditions of the war were so bad more men died of disease and
sickness than on the battlefield.
iii. Hunger and Homelessness: After the war, over 4 million slaves were freed. They didn't know
what the future had in store for them. With freedom came hunger and homelessness. Some
slaves stayed on the plantations, but others went north. Either way, thousands of former slaves
were without homes, clothes, food, jobs, and didn't have any education. The Freedman's Bureau
helped both blacks and whites after the war by providing them with food and medical care.
V. Effects of the Civil War
i. The Civil War was one of the most tragic wars in American history. More Americans died then in
all other wars combined. Brother fought against brother and the nation was torn apart. In the
end, we must look at the important consequences of the conflict. There may be others, but this is
a good list to work off.
ii. The nation was reunited and the southern states were not allowed to secede.
iii. The South was placed under military rule and divided into military districts. Southern states then
had to apply for readmission to the Union.
iv. The Federal government proved itself supreme over the states.
v. Slavery was effectively ended. While slavery was not officially outlawed until the passage of the
13th amendment, the slaves were set free upon the end of the war.
vi. Reconstruction, the plan to rebuild America after the war, began.
vii. Industrialism began as a result of the increase in wartime production and the development of
new technologies.

Course of War

I. Introduction Bull Run Ends the Ninety-Day War

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1. When President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 militiamen on April 15, 1861, he and just
about everyone else in the North expected a swift war lasting about 90 days, with a quick
suppression of the South to prove the Norths superiority and end this foolishness.
2. On July 21, 1861, ill-trained Yankee recruits swaggered out toward Bull Run to engage a smaller
Confederate unit.
i. The atmosphere was like that of a sporting event, as Congressmen gathered in picnics.
ii. However, after initial success by the Union, Confederate reinforcements arrived and,
coupled with Stonewall Jacksons line holding, sent the Union soldiers into disarray.
3. The Battle of Bull Run showed both sides that this would not be a short, easy war.
II. Tardy George McClellan and the Peninsula Campaign
1. Later in 1861, command of the Army of the Potomac (name of the Union army) was given to 34
year old General George B. McClellan, an excellent drillmaster and organizer of troops but also a
perfectionist who constantly believed that he was outnumbered, never took risks, and held the
army without moving for months before finally ordered by Lincoln to advance.
2. Finally, he decided upon a water-borne approach to Richmond, called the Peninsula Campaign,
taking about a month to capture Yorktown before coming to the Richmond.
i. At this moment, President Lincoln took McClellans expected reinforcements and sent
them chasing Stonewall Jackson, and after Jeb Stuarts Confederate cavalry rode
completely around McClellans army, Southern General Robert E. Lee launched a
devastating counterattackthe Seven Days Battleson June 26 to July 2 of 1862.
ii. The victory at Bull Run ensured that the South, if it lost, would lose slavery as well, and it
was after this battle that Lincoln began to draft an emancipation proclamation.
3. The Union strategy now turned to total war:
i. Suffocate the South through an oceanic blockade.
ii. Free the slaves to undermine the Souths very economic foundations.
iii. Cut the Confederacy in half by seizing control of the Mississippi River.
iv. Chop the Confederacy to pieces by marching through Georgia and the Carolinas.
v. Capture its capital, Richmond, Virginia.
vi. Try everywhere to engage the enemys main strength and grind it to submission.
III. The War at Sea
1. The Union blockade started leakily at first, but it clamped down later.
2. Britain, who would ordinarily protest such interference in the seas that she owned, recognized
the blockade as binding, since Britain herself often used blockades in her wars.
3. Blockade-running, or the process of smuggling materials through the blockade, was a risky but
profitable business, but the Union navy also seized British freighters on the high seas, citing
ultimate destination [to the South] as their reasons; the British relented, since they might have
to do the same thing in later wars (as they did in World War I).
4. The biggest Confederate threat to the Union came in the form of an old U.S. warship
reconditioned and plated with iron railroad rails: the Virginia (formerly called the Merrimack),
which threatened to break the Union blockade, but fortunately, the Monitor arrived just in time
to fight the Merrimack to a standstill, and the Confederate ship was destroyed later by the South
to save it from the North.
IV. The Pivotal Point: Antietam
1. In the Second Battle of Bull Run, Robert E. Lee crushed the arrogant General John Pope.]
2. After this battle, Lee hoped to thrust into the North and win, hopefully persuading the Border
States to join the South and foreign countries to intervene on behalf of the South.
i. At this time, Lincoln reinstated General McClellan.
3. McClellans men found a copy of Lees plans and were able to stop the Southerners at Antietam
on September 17, 1862 in one of the bloodiest days of the Civil War.
i. Jefferson Davis was never so close to victory as he was that day, since European powers
were very close to helping the South, but after the Union army displayed unexpected
power at Antietam, that help faded.

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ii. Antietam was also the Union display of power that Lincoln needed to announce his
Emancipation Proclamation, which didnt actually free the slaves, but gave the general
idea; it was announced on January 1, 1863.
iii. Now, the war wasnt just to save the Union, it was to save the slaves a well.
V. A Proclamation without Emancipation
1. The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in not-yet-conquered Southern territories, but
slaves in the Border States and the conquered territories were not liberated; Lincoln freed the
slaves where he couldnt and wouldnt free the slaves where he could.
2. The proclamation was very controversial, as many soldiers refused to fight for abolition and
deserted.
3. However, since many slaves, upon hearing the proclamation, left their plantations, the
Emancipation Proclamation did succeed in one of its purposes: the undermine the labor of the
South.
4. Angry Southerners cried that Lincoln was stirring up trouble and trying to have a slave
insurrection.
VI. Blacks Battle Bondage
1. At first, Blacks werent enlisted in the army, but as men ran low, these men were eventually
allowed in; by wars end, Blacks accounted for about 10% of the Union army.
2. Until 1864, Southerners refused to recognize Black soldiers as prisoners of war, and often
executed them as runaways and rebels, and in one case at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, Blacks who
had surrendered were massacred.
i. Afterwards, vengeful Black units swore to take no prisoners, crying, Remember Fort
Pillow!
3. Many Blacks, whether through fear, loyalty, lack of leadership, or strict policing, didnt cast off
their chains when they heard the Emancipation Proclamation, but many others walked off of
their jobs when Union armies conquered territory that included the plantations that they worked
on.
VII. Lees Last Lunge at Gettysburg
1. After Antietam, A. E. Burnside (known for sideburns) took over the Union army, but he lost badly
after launching a rash frontal attack at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on Dec. 13, 1862.
2. Fighting Joe Hooker (known for his girls, aka prostitutes) was badly beaten at Chancellorsville,
Virginia, when Lee divided his outnumbered army into two and sent Stonewall Jackson to
attack the Union flank, but later in that battle, Jacksons own men mistakenly shot him during
dusk, and he died.
3. Lee now prepared to invade the North for the second and final time, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,
but he was met by new General George G. Meade, who by accident took a stand atop a low ridge
flanking a shallow valley and the Union and Confederate armies fought a bloody and brutal battle
in which the North won.
i. In the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863), General George Pickett led a hopeless,
bloody, and pitiful charge up a hill that ended in the pig-slaughter of Confederates.
ii. A few months later, Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address.
VIII. The War in the West
1. Lincoln finally found a good general in Ulysses S. Grant, a mediocre West Point graduate who
drank a lot and also fought under the ideal of immediate and unconditional surrender.
2. Grant won at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, but then lost a hard battle at Shiloh (April 6-7,
1862), just over the Tennessee border.
3. In the spring of 1862, a flotilla commanded by David G. Farragut joined with a Northern army to
seize New Orleans.
4. At Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S. Grant besieged the city and captured it on July 4, 1863, thus
securing the important Mississippi River.
5. The Union victory at the Battle of Vicksburg came the day after the Union victory at Gettysburg,
and afterwards, the Confederate hope for foreign intervention was lost.
IX. Sherman Scorches Georgia

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1. After Grant cleared out Tennessee, General William Tecumseh Sherman was given command to
march through Georgia, and he delivered, capturing and burning down Atlanta before
completing his famous march to the sea at Savannah.
i. His men cut a trail of destruction one-mile wide, waging total war by cutting up
railroad tracks, burning fields, and destroying everything.
X. The Politics of War
1. The Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War was created in 1861 was dominated
by radical Republicans and gave Lincoln much trouble.
2. The Northern Democrats split after the death of Stephen Douglas, as War Democrats
supported Lincoln while Peace Democrats did not.
i. Copperheads were those who totally against the war, and denounced the president (the
Illinois Ape) and his nigger war.
ii. The most famous of the copperheads was Clement L. Valandigham, who harshly
denounced the war but was imprisoned, then banished to the South, then came back to
Ohio illegally but was not further punished, and also inspired the story The Man
without a Country.
XI. The Election of 1864
1. In 1864, the Republicans joined the War Democrats to form the Union Party and renominated
Abe Lincoln despite a bit of opposition, while the Copperheads and Peace Democrats ran George
McClellan.
i. The Union Party chose Democrat Andrew Johnson to ensure that the War Democrats
would vote for Lincoln, and the campaign was once again full of mudslinging, etc
ii. Near Election Day, the victories at New Orleans and Atlanta occurred, and the Northern
soldiers were pushed to vote, and Lincoln killed his opponent in the Electoral College,
212-21.
iii. The popular vote was closer: 2,206,938-1,803,787.
XII. Grant Outlasts Lee
1. Grant was a man who could send thousands of men out to die just so that the Confederates
would lose, because he knew that he could afford to lose many men while Lee could not.
i. In a series of wilderness encounters, Grant fought Lee, with Grant losing about 50,000
men.
ii. At Cold Harbor, Union soldiers with papers pinned on their backs showing their names
and addresses rushed the fort, and over 7000 died in a few minutes.
iii. The public was outraged and shocked over this kind of gore and death, and demanded
the relief of General Grant, but Ulysses stayed.
2. Finally, Grant and his men captured Richmond, burning it, and cornered Lee at Appomattox
Courthouse at Virginia in April of 1865, where Lee formally surrendered; the war was over.
XIII. The Martyrdom of Lincoln
XIV. The Aftermath of the Nightmare.
1. The Civil War cost 600,000 men, $15 billion, and wasted the cream of the American crop.
2. However it gave America a supreme test of its existence, and the U.S. survived, proving its
strength and further increasing its growing power and reputation; plus, slavery was also
destroyed, which was great.
3. It paved the way for the United States fulfillment of its destiny as the dominant republic of the
Western Hemisphereand later, the world.

Topic 8: Industrialization and its emergence as one of the world powers (1870 -1916)

1) Introduction
I. The industrial growth had major effects on American life. The new business activity centered on
cities. As a result, people moved to cities in record numbers, and the cities grew by leaps and

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bounds. The sharp contrast between the rich and the poor and other features of American life
stirred widespread discontent. The discontent triggered new reform movements.
II. The industrial growth centred chiefly on the North. The war-torn South lagged behind the rest of
the country economically. In the West, frontier life was ending.
III. America's role in foreign affairs also changed during the late 1800's and early 1900's. The country
built up its military strength and became a world power.
2) The rise of big business
I. The value of goods produced by American industry increased almost tenfold between 1870 and
1916. Many interrelated developments contributed to this growth.
II. Improved production methods. The use of machines in manufacturing spread throughout
American industry after the Civil War. With machines, workers could produce goods many times
faster than they could by hand. The new large manufacturing firms hired hundreds, or even
thousands, of workers. Each worker was assigned a specific job in the production process. This
system of organizing labourers, called the division of labour, also sped up production.
III. Development of new products. Inventors created, and business leaders produced and sold, a
variety of new products. The products included the typewriter (1867), barbed wire (1874), the
telephone (1876), the phonograph (early form of record player) (1877), the electric light (1879),
and the petrol-engine car (1885).
IV. Natural resources. America's rich and varied natural resources played a key role in the rise of big
business. The nation's abundant water supply helped power the industrial machines. Forests
provided timber for construction and wooden products. Miners took large quantities of coal and
iron ore from the ground.
V. A growing population. More than 25 million immigrants entered the United States between 1870
and 1916. Immigration plus natural growth caused the U.S. population to more than double during
the same period, rising from about 40 million to about 100 million.
VI. Distribution and communication. In the late 1800's, the American railway system became a
nationwide transportation network. The total distance of all railway lines in operation in the United
States soared from about 14,500 kilometres in 1850 to almost 320,000 kilometres in 1900. A high
point in railway development came in 1869, when workers laid tracks that joined the Central Pacific
and Union Pacific railways near Ogden, Utah. This event marked the completion of the world's first
transcontinental railway system. The system linked the United States by rail from coast to coast.
VII. The new railways spurred economic growth. Mining companies used them to ship raw materials to
factories over long distances quickly. Manufacturers distributed their finished products by rail to
points throughout the country. The railways became highly profitable businesses for their owners.
VIII. Advances in communication provided a boost for the economy. Railways replaced such mail-
delivery systems as the stagecoach. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. These
developments, along with the telegraph, provided the quick communication that is vital to the
smooth operation of big business.
IX. Investment and banking. The business boom triggered a sharp increase in investments in the
stocks and bonds of corporations. As businesses prospered, people eager to share in the profits
invested heavily. Their investments provided capital that companies needed to expand their
operations.
X. New banks sprang up throughout the country. Banks helped finance the nation's economic growth
by making loans to businesses. Some bankers of the era assumed key positions in the American
economy because of their ability to provide huge sums of capital.
3) The South and the West

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I. The war-torn South. After the Civil War, Americans in the South faced the task of rebuilding their
war-torn society. The South lagged behind the rest of the nation economically. Some industry
developed in the region, but the South remained an agricultural area throughout the period of
industrialization.
II. Many Southern farmers--both black and white--owned the land they worked. But in general, the
land of these small, independent farmers was poor. The best land was given over to tenant
farming--a system in which labourers farm the land and pay rent in money or crops to the
owner. The tenant farming system had neither the virtues of the plantation system of pre-Civil War
days nor of the independent owner system. The tenant farmers lacked the incentive to improve
land that was not their own, and the owners did not have full control over production. For these
and other reasons, agriculture remained more backward in the South than elsewhere.
III. The end of the Western frontier. The long process of settling the United States from coast to coast
drew to a close after the Civil War. In 1862, Congress passed the Homestead Act, which offered
public land to people free or at very low cost. Thousands of Americans and immigrants started
farms in the West under the provisions of the act.
IV. After 1870, settlement became so widespread in the West that it was no longer possible to draw a
continuous frontier line. The United States Census of 1890 officially recognized the fact that
America's frontier had ended.
V. The settlement of the West brought an end to the American Indian way of life. Farmers occupied
and fenced in much of the land. White people moving westward slaughtered buffalo herds on
which Indians depended for survival. Some Indians retaliated against the whites by attacking wagon
trains and homes. But, as in earlier days, the federal government sent soldiers to crush the Indian
uprisings. In the end, the Indians were no match for the soldiers and their superior weapons. Over
the years, the federal government pushed more and more Indians onto reservations.
4) Life during the industrial era
I. The industrial boom had major effects on the lives of the American people. The availability of jobs
in industries drew people from farms to cities in record numbers. In 1870, only about 25 per cent of
the American people lived in urban areas. By 1916, the figure had reached almost 50 per cent.
II. The lives of people in the cities contrasted sharply. A small percentage of them had enormous
wealth and enjoyed lives of luxury. Below them economically, the larger middle class lived
comfortably. But at the bottom of the economic ladder, a huge mass of city people lived in extreme
poverty.
III. The wealthy. The business boom opened up many opportunities for financial gain. The economic
activity it generated enabled many people to establish successful businesses, expand existing ones,
and profit from investments. Some business leaders and investors were able to amass huge
fortunes. The number of millionaires in the United States grew from perhaps about 20 in 1850 to
more than 3,000 in 1900.
IV. The middle class. Other city people prospered enough to live lives of comfort, if not wealth. They
included owners of small businesses, and such workers as factory and office managers. They
became part of America's growing middle class.
V. The underprivileged. The laborers who toiled in factories, mills, and mines did not share in the
benefits of the economic growth. They usually worked at least 60 hours a week for an average pay
of about 20 cents an hour, and had no fringe benefits.
VI. As the nation's population grew, so did the competition for jobs. The supply of workers outstripped
the demand. The oversupply of workers led to high unemployment. In addition, depressions slowed
the economy to a near standstill in 1873, 1884, 1893, and 1907.

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VII. The everyday life of the city poor was dismal and drab. The poor lived crowded together in
slums. Much of their housing consisted of cheap apartment buildings called tenements. The
crowded slum neighbourhoods bred crime. Overwork, poor sanitation, and inadequate diet left
slum dwellers vulnerable to disease. Many poor children received little or no education, because
they had to work to contribute to their families' welfare.
VIII. The farmers. American farmers also suffered hardships after the Civil War. Advances in agricultural
equipment and techniques had enabled most of the farmers to increase their production. However,
middlemen between the farmers and the consumers took a large share of the money earned from
farm products. The middlemen included owners of railways, mills, and gins.
IX. The Gilded Age. American author Mark Twain called the era of industrialization "The Gilded
Age." Twain used this term to describe the culture of the newly rich of the period. Lacking tradition,
the wealthy developed a showy culture supposedly based on the culture of upper-class
Europeans. The enormous mansions of the newly rich Americans imitated European palaces. The
wealthy filled the mansions with European works of art, antiques, rare books, and gaudy
decorations.
X. Most Americans, however, had a far different idea of culture. They enjoyed fairs that exhibited
industrial machines, the latest inventions, and other items related to America's material
progress. The American people were eager spectators at circuses, vaudeville shows, and sporting
events. Baseball became so popular after 1900 that it was called the national pastime. Also after
1900, a new kind of entertainment, the cinema, began attracting public interest.
XI. Government and the people. After the Civil War, the Democratic and Republican parties developed
strong political machines. Members of these organizations kept in contact with the people, and did
them favours in return for votes. But in general, political leaders strongly favoured business
interests.
XII. Government of the era was also marked by widespread corruption. Ulysses S. Grant became
president in 1869. Members of Grant's administration used their government positions for their
own financial gain. Corruption also flourished in state and local government.
5) Reform
I. A strong spirit of reform swept through the United States during the late 1800's and early
1900's. Many Americans called for changes in the country's economic, political, and social
systems. They wanted to reduce poverty, improve the living conditions of the poor, and regulate
big business. They worked to end corruption in government, make government more responsive to
the people, and accomplish other goals. By 1917, the reformers had brought about many
changes. Some reformers called themselves progressives. As a result, the period of American
history from about 1890 to about 1917 is often called the Progressive Era.
II. Early reform efforts included movements to organize labourers and farmers. In 1886, skilled
labourers formed the American Federation of Labor (AFL)--now the American Federation of Labor-
Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). Led by Samuel Gompers, this union bargained with
employers and gained better wages and working conditions for its members. Farmers founded the
National Grange in 1867 and Farmers' Alliances during the 1870's and 1880's. These groups helped
force railways to lower their charges for hauling farm products and assisted the farmers in other
ways.
III. The drive for woman suffrage became strong after the Civil War. In 1869, Susan B. Anthony and
Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association. The Territory of
Wyoming gave women the right to vote the same year. Soon, a few states allowed women to vote,
but only in local elections.

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IV. The Progressive Era. The outcry for reform increased sharply after 1890. Members of the clergy,
social workers, and others studied life in the slums and reported on the awful living conditions
there. Educators criticized the nation's school system. Increasingly, unskilled workers resorted to
strikes in an attempt to gain concessions from their employers. Often, violence broke out between
strikers and strikebreakers hired by the employers. Socialists and others who opposed the U.S.
economic system of capitalism supported the strikers and gained a large following.
V. As public support for reform grew, so did the political influence of the reformers. In 1891, farmers
and some labourers formed the People's, or Populist, Party. The Populists called for government
action to help farmers and labourers. They gained a large following, and convinced many
Democrats and Republicans to support reforms.
VI. Reformers won control of many city and some state governments. They also elected many people
to Congress who favoured their views. In addition, the first three presidents elected after 1900--
Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson--supported certain reform laws.
VII. Local and state legislation. Reformers in local and state government passed many laws to help the
poor. Such laws provided for tenement house inspection, playgrounds, and other improvements of
life in the slums. Some reform governments expanded public education and forced employers to
protect workers against fires and dangerous machinery in factories.
VIII. Federal legislation. Theodore Roosevelt, who became president in 1901, was a liberal Republican
who called for a "square deal" for all Americans. Roosevelt became the first president to help
labourers in a strike against employers. In 1902, the United Mine Workers struck for better wages
and working conditions. Roosevelt asked the miners and the mine owners to settle their
differences through arbitration, but the mine owners refused. Angered, the president threatened
to have the army take over the mines. The owners gave in, and reached a compromise with the
miners.
IX. Republican William Howard Taft succeeded Roosevelt in 1909. Although a conservative, Taft helped
further the cause of reform. In 1912, conservative Republicans backed Taft for their party's
presidential nomination, and liberal Republicans supported Roosevelt. Taft won the nomination.
The liberals then formed the Progressive, or "Bull Moose," Party and nominated Roosevelt for
president. The Republican split enabled reform Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win the presidency.
X. The reform movement flourished under Wilson. The many reform measures passed during Wilson's
presidency included the Underwood Tariff Act of 1913, which lowered a high tariff that protected
American business from foreign competition.
6) Foreign affairs
I. During the 1870's and 1880's, the United States paid relatively little attention to foreign affairs. In
comparison to such European nations as France, Germany, and Great Britain, the United States was
weak militarily and had little influence in international politics. During the 1890's and early 1900's,
however, the United States developed into a world power and took a leading role in international
affairs.
II. The Spanish-American War of 1898 marked a turning point in United States foreign policy. Spain
ruled Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and other overseas possessions during the 1890's. In the
mid-1890's, Cubans revolted against their Spanish rulers. Many Americans demanded that the
United States aid the rebels. On Feb. 15, 1898, the United States battleship Maine blew up off the
coast of Havana, Cuba. No one was certain what caused the explosion, but many Americans blamed
the Spaniards. On April 25, 1898, Congress declared war on Spain. The United States quickly
defeated Spain, and the Treaty of Paris of Dec. 10, 1898, officially ended the war. Under the treaty,

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the United States received Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines from Spain. Also in 1898, the
United States annexed Hawaii.
III. A world power. After he became president in 1901, Roosevelt expressed his foreign policy strategy
with the slogan, "Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick." Roosevelt meant that the country must back
up its diplomatic efforts with military strength. In 1903, the president used a threat of force to gain
the right to dig the Panama Canal. America took over the finances of the Dominican Republic in
1905 to keep that country stable and free from European intervention. These and other actions
showed that the United States had emerged as a world power.
IV. War clouds in Europe. In 1914, long-standing problems among European nations led to the
outbreak of World War I. Before long, events would drag the United States into war and test its
new role as a world power.
7) Conclusion

Topic 9: USAs role in the Two World Wars (i. 1914 1918, ii. 1939 - 1945)

1) Introduction: A new place in the world (1917-1929)


I. The United States stayed out of World War I until 1917. But then, German acts of aggression
convinced most Americans of the need to join the war against Germany. For the first time in its
history, the United States mobilized for a full-scale war on foreign territory.
II. The decade following World War I brought sweeping changes. The economy entered a period of
spectacular--though uneven--growth. The booming economy and fast-paced life of the decade gave
it the nickname of the Roaring Twenties. But the good times ended abruptly. In 1929, a stock
market crash triggered the worst and longest depression in America's history.
2) World War I and the peace
I. The United States in the war. After World War I began in 1914, the United States repeatedly
declared its neutrality. But increasingly, German acts of aggression brought America closer to
joining the Allies. On May 7, 1915, a German submarine sank the British passenger ship
Lusitania. The attack killed 1,198 people, including 128 Americans. Woodrow Wilson won
reelection to the presidency in November 1916, using the slogan, "He Kept Us Out of War." But
three months later, German submarines began sinking American merchant ships. This and other
acts of aggression led the United States to declare war on Germany on April 6, 1917.
II. The American people rallied around their government's decision to go to war. Almost 2 million men
volunteered for service, and about 3 million were conscripted. On the home front, the spirit of
patriotism grew to a fever pitch. Americans willingly let the government take almost complete
control of the economy for the good of the war effort.
III. World War I ended in an Allied victory with the signing of an armistice on Nov. 11, 1918.
IV. The peace conference and treaty. In 1919, the Allies held the Paris Peace Conference to draw up
the terms of the peace with Germany. Wilson viewed the conference as an opportunity to establish
lasting peace among nations. But the other leading Allies were chiefly interested in gaining territory
and war payments from Germany. They adopted the Treaty of Versailles, which ignored almost all
of Wilson's proposals.
V. The Treaty of Versailles did make provision for one of Wilson's proposals--an association of nations
(later called the League of Nations) that would work to maintain peace. But the U.S. Senate failed

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to ratify (approve) the Treaty of Versailles. Thus, the Senate rejected U.S. participation in the
League of Nations.
3) Life during the Roaring Twenties
I. In many ways, the 1920's marked the point at which the United States began developing into the
modern society it is today.
II. The role of American women changed dramatically during the 1920's. The 19th Amendment to the
Constitution, which became law on Aug. 26, 1920, gave women the right to vote in all elections. In
addition, many new opportunities for education and careers opened up to women during the
decade.
III. Social change and problems. Developments of the 1920's broadened the experiences of millions of
Americans. The mass movement to cities meant more people could enjoy such activities as films,
plays, and sporting events. Radio broadcasting began on a large scale. The car gave people a new
way to get around. Cinemas became part of almost every city and town. The new role of women
also changed society. Many women who found careers outside the home began thinking of
themselves more as the equal of men, and less as housewives and mothers.
IV. The modern trends of the 1920's brought about problems as well as benefits. Many Americans had
trouble adjusting to the impersonal, fast-paced life of cities. This disorientation led to a rise in
juvenile delinquency, crime, and other antisocial behaviour.
V. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution, called the prohibition amendment, caused unforeseen
problems. It outlawed the sale of alcoholic beverages throughout the United States as of Jan. 16,
1920. Many otherwise law-abiding citizens considered prohibition a violation of their rights. They
ignored the law and bought alcohol provided by underworld gangs.
VI. Looking backward. Not all Americans saw the changes brought about during the Roaring Twenties
as being desirable. Many people yearned for a return to old American traditions, a trend that was
reflected in many areas of life. In politics, it led to the return of a conservative federal
government. In his successful presidential campaign of 1920, Warren G. Harding used the slogan "A
Return to Normalcy." To many people, returning to "normalcy" meant ending the strong role of the
federal government that marked the early 1900's. It also meant isolation, a turning away from the
affairs of the outside world.
VII. In religion, the trend toward tradition led to an upsurge of revivalism (emotional religious
preaching). Revival meetings were most common in rural areas, but also spread to cities.
VIII. The Ku Klux Klan had died out in the 1870's, but a new Klan gained a large following during the
1920's. The new Klan had easy answers for Americans who were troubled by modern problems. It
blamed the problems on "outsiders," including blacks, Jews, Roman Catholics, foreigners, and
political radicals.
4) The economy--boom and bust
I. During the 1920's, the American economy soared to spectacular heights. Wartime government
restrictions on business ended. Conservatives gained control of the federal government and
adopted policies that aided big business.
II. But in spite of its growth and apparent strength, the economy was on shaky ground. Only one
segment of the economy--manufacturing--prospered. Business executives grew rich, but farmers
and labourers became worse off. Finally, in 1929, wild speculation led to a stock market crash.
III. Government and business. The American people grew tired of the federal government's
involvement in society that marked the Progressive Era and the war years. They elected to
Congress conservatives who promised to reduce the role of government. Also, all three presidents

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elected during the 1920's--Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover--were Republicans who
agreed with the policy.
IV. Technology enabled American manufacturers to develop new products, improve existing ones, and
turn out goods much faster and more cheaply than ever before. Sales of such items as electric
washing machines, refrigerators, and radios soared. But the manufacturing boom depended most
heavily on the growth of the car industry. Before and during the 1920's, Henry Ford and others
refined car manufacturing to a science. The cost of cars continued to drop and sales soared. In just
10 years between 1920 and 1930, the number of cars registered in the United States almost tripled,
growing from about 8 million to 23 million.
V. Agriculture and labour did not share in the prosperity. A reduced market for farm goods in war-
torn Europe and a slowdown in the U.S. population growth led to a decline in the demand for
American farm products. Widespread poverty among farmers and labourers cut into the demand
for manufactured goods, a contributing factor to the forthcoming depression.
VI. Investments, speculation, and the crash. The economic growth of the 1920's led more Americans
than ever to invest in the shares of corporations. The investments, in turn, provided companies
with a flood of new capital for business expansion. As investors poured money into the stock
market, the value of shares soared. The upsweep led to widespread speculation, which pushed the
value of shares far beyond the level justified by earnings and dividends.
VII. Such unsound investment practices led to the stock market crash of 1929. In late October, a
decline in share prices set in. Panic selling followed, lowering share prices drastically and dragging
investors to financial ruin. The stock market crash combined with the other weaknesses in the
nation's economy to bring on the Great Depression of the 1930's.
5) Depression and a world in conflict (1930-1959)
I. The United States suffered through the Great Depression that followed the stock market crash of
1929 for more than 10 years. During the depression, millions of workers lost their jobs and large
numbers of farmers were forced to abandon their farms. Poverty swept through the nation on a
scale never before experienced.
II. The Great Depression was not limited to the United States. It struck almost every other country in
the world. In some countries, the hard times helped bring to power dictators who promised to
restore the economy. The dictators included Adolf Hitler in Germany and a group of military leaders
in Japan. Once in power, both Hitler and the Japanese rulers began conquering neighbouring
lands. Their actions led to World War II, the most destructive conflict in world history. The United
States fought in the war from 1941 to 1945, and played a key role in defeating Germany and Japan.
III. Victory in World War II brought a spirit of great relief and joy to the United States. The postwar
economy boomed. More people shared in the prosperity than ever before, creating a huge, well-to-
do middle class. Even so, Americans still faced problems. Chief among them were the new threat of
nuclear war, the growing strength of Communism, and discontent among Americans who did not
share in the prosperity.
6) The Great Depression
I. The road to ruin. The stock market crash sent shock waves through the American financial
community. Banks greatly curtailed their loans to businesses, and businesses then cut back on
production. Millions of people lost their jobs because of the cutbacks. Spending then dwindled, and
businesses suffered even more. Factories and shops shut down, causing even higher
unemployment. Consumption of farm products declined, and farmers became worse off than
ever. Thousands of banks failed and foreign trade decreased sharply. By the early 1930's, the
nation's economy was paralysed.

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II. The depression and the people. At the height of the depression in 1933, about 13 million
Americans were out of work, and many others had only part-time jobs. Farm income declined so
sharply that more than 750,000 farmers lost their land. The Dust Bowl, the result of a terrible
drought on the western Great Plains, also wiped out many farmers. Hundreds of thousands of
people lost their life savings as a result of the bank failures.
III. Throughout the depression, many Americans went hungry. People stood in "bread lines" and went
to "soup kitchens" to get food provided by charities. Often, two or more families lived crowded
together in a small apartment. Some homeless people built shacks of tin and scraps of wood on
waste ground.
IV. Roosevelt, recovery, and reform. Early in the Great Depression, President Herbert Hoover
promised that prosperity was "just around the corner." But the depression deepened as the
election of 1932 approached. The Republicans supported Hoover for reelection. The Democrats
chose Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In his campaign, Roosevelt promised government action to end
the Great Depression and reforms to avoid future depressions. The people responded, and
Roosevelt won a landslide victory.
V. Roosevelt's programme was called the New Deal. Its many provisions included public works
projects to provide jobs, relief for farmers, assistance to manufacturing firms, and the regulation of
banks.
VI. Roosevelt's efforts to end the depression made him one of the most popular U.S. presidents. The
voters elected him to four terms. No other president won election more than twice. Roosevelt's
New Deal was a turning point in American history. It marked the start of a strong government role
in the nation's economic affairs that has continued and grown to the present day.
7) The United States in World War II
I. World War II began on Sept. 1, 1939, when German troops overran Poland. France, Great Britain,
and other nations (called the Allies) went to war against Germany. At first, America stayed out of
the war. But on Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese planes bombed the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii. The United States declared war on Japan on December 8, and three days later Germany
and Italy--Germany's chief ally--declared war on the United States.
II. The war effort. The American people backed the war effort with fierce dedication. About 15 million
American men served in the armed forces. About 338,000 women served in the armed forces. At
home, factories were converted into defence plants where aeroplanes, ships, weapons, and other
war supplies were made. The country had a shortage of civilian men, and so thousands of women
worked in the defence plants. ven children took part in the war effort. Boys and girls collected
used tin cans, old tyres, and other "junk" that could be recycled and used for war supplies.
III. Allied victory. On May 7, 1945, after a long, bitter struggle, the Allies forced the mighty German
war machine to surrender. Vice President Harry S. Truman had become president upon Roosevelt's
death about a month earlier. The Allies demanded Japan's surrender, but the Japanese continued
to fight on. Truman then made one of the major decisions in history. He ordered the use of the
atomic bomb, a weapon many times more destructive than any previous weapon. An American
aeroplane dropped the first atomic bomb used in warfare on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945. A
second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9. Japan formally surrendered on
September 2, and the war was over.
8) Conclusion

Topic 10: Post 1945 world scenario and emergence of USA and USSR as the Two World Powers.

Compiled by Ayesha Younas


Compiled by Ayesha Younas

1) The Threat of Communism


I. The United States and the Soviet Union both fought on the side of the Allies during World War II.
But after the war, the two countries became bitter enemies. The Soviet Union, as a Communist
country, opposed democracy. It helped Communists take control of most of the countries of
Eastern Europe and also aided Communists who seized control of China.
II. The Soviet Union and China then set out to spread Communism to other lands. The United
States, as the world's most powerful democratic country, took on the role of defending non-
Communist nations threatened by Communist take-over. The containment of Communism
became the major goal of U.S. postwar foreign policy.
III. The Cold War and foreign policy. The postwar struggle between the American-led non-
Communist nations and the Soviet Union and its Communist allies became known as the Cold
War. The conflict was so named because it did not lead to fighting, or a "hot" war, on a major
scale.
IV. Both the United States and the Soviet Union built up arsenals of nuclear weapons. The nuclear
weapons made each nation capable of destroying the other. The threat of nuclear war made
both sides cautious. As a result, Cold War strategy emphasized threats of force, propaganda, and
aid to weak nations. The United Nations (UN), founded in 1945, provided a forum where the
nations could try to settle their Cold War disputes.
V. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, the first two presidents of the Cold War era, pledged
American military support to any nation threatened by Communism. Also, the United States
provided billions of dollars to non-Communist nations.
VI. The Korean War resulted from the Cold War friction. On June 25, 1950, troops from Communist
North Korea, equipped by the Soviet Union, invaded South Korea. The UN called on member
nations to help restore peace. Truman sent American troops to aid South Korea, and the UN sent
a fighting force made up of troops from many nations. The war lasted for three years, ending in a
truce on July 27, 1953.
VII. Communism and internal friction. The spread of Communism caused deep divisions within the
United States. Conservatives blamed the Roosevelt and Truman administrations for allowing the
Communist postwar gains. They also claimed that Communists were infiltrating the American
government. The charges led to widespread investigations of--and debate over--the extent of
Communist influence in American government and society. Conservatives believed the
investigations were needed to save the country from Communist control. Liberals charged the
conservatives with conducting "witch hunts"; that is, trying to fix guilt on people without
evidence.
2) Postwar society
I. After World War II, the United States entered the greatest period of economic growth in its
history. Periods of inflation (rapidly rising prices) and recession (mild business slumps) occurred.
But overall, prosperity spread to more Americans than ever before, resulting in major changes in
American life. However, millions of Americans--including a high percentage of the nation's
blacks--continued to live in poverty. The existence of poverty amid prosperity brought on a
period of active social protest that has continued to the present day.
II. Prosperity returns. Military spending during World War II drew the United States out of the
Great Depression. Major industries, such as car manufacturing and housing construction, had all
but stopped during the war. After the war, these industries resumed production on a much larger
scale than ever. elatively new industries such as electronics, plastics, frozen foods, and jet
aircraft became booming businesses.

Compiled by Ayesha Younas


Compiled by Ayesha Younas

III. The shortage of goods during the war and other factors combined to create a vast market for
American products. A population boom increased the number of consumers. Between 1950 and
1960 alone, the population of the United States grew by about 28 million. Trade unions became
stronger than ever, and gained high wages and other benefits for their members. Wage laws and
other government regulations also helped give workers a greater share of the profits of business.
These developments also meant that more Americans had more money to spend on goods.
IV. A new life style resulted from the prosperity. After the war, millions of people needed, and were
able to afford, new housing. Construction companies quickly built huge clusters of houses in
suburbs around the nation's cities. Vast numbers of Americans moved from cities to suburbs. The
suburbs attracted people for many reasons. They offered newer housing, more open space, and--
usually--better schools than the inner cities.
V. A rise in car ownership accompanied the suburban growth. Increased car traffic led to the
building of a nationwide network of motorways. The car and prosperity enabled more people
than ever to take holidays. New motels, fast-service restaurants, and petrol stations sprang up to
serve the tourists.
VI. Prosperity and technological advances changed American life in other ways. Television--an
experimental device before the war--became a feature of most American homes during the
1950's. This wonder of modern science brought scenes of the world into the American living
room at the flick of a switch. New appliances made house work easier. They included automatic
washing machines, driers, dishwashers, and waste disposal units.
VII. Poverty and discrimination. In spite of the general prosperity, millions of Americans still lived in
poverty. The poor included members of all ethnic groups, but the plight of the nation's poor
blacks seemed especially bleak. Ever since emancipation, blacks in both the North and South had
faced discrimination in jobs, housing, education, and other areas. A lack of education and jobs
made poverty among blacks widespread.
VIII. During the early 1900's, blacks, joined by many whites, had begun a movement to extend civil
rights to blacks. The movement gained momentum after World War II. Efforts of civil rights
leaders resulted in several Supreme Court decisions that attacked discrimination. In the best-
known case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), the court ruled that compulsory
segregation in state schools was illegal.
IX. In spite of the gains, many civil rights leaders became dissatisfied with the slow progress of their
movement. In 1955, Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist minister, began organizing demonstrations
protesting against discrimination. Before long, the public protest would become a major tool of
Americans seeking change.
3) Conclusion

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_North_America_since_1763
http://studymore.org.uk/america.htm
http://www.theusaonline.com/
AP Notes

Compiled by Ayesha Younas

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