Chapter 1: Introduction

• The north won the civil war, but Abraham Lincoln was assassinated 2 months prior

• The north occupied the south and entered a period called reconstruction

• Reconstruction refers to the actual reconstruction and reform of the south

• Three big things happened during reconstruction:

  • The north suspended democracy in the south and installed its own politicians

  • The United States passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments

  • The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in 1865

Chapter 2: The United States

• The Emancipation Proclamation

  • Abraham Lincoln's executive order

  • Official law in 1865

• The 14th Amendment

  • Made every person born in the United States a citizen

  • Included the free slaves

  • Introduced due process

• The 15th Amendment

  • Gave all free men the right to vote

  • No non-free men

  • Women still did not have the right to vote

• Former slaves brought on equal standing by law, but not in practice

Chapter 3: Called Jim Crow

• The reconstruction period ends in 1877

• Republicans were in power in the North, Democrats in the South

• Democracy was contested and elections were heavily contested

Jim Crow Laws

• Jim Crow laws were passed in the South

• Named after a parody character from the early 1800s

• Blacks and whites were segregated

• Conditions for blacks were far inferior

• Blacks had to use separate drinking fountains

Chapter 4: The United States

• Segregation and discrimination

  • Separate bathroom rooms

  • Segregation in theaters and buses

  • Lasted until the civil rights movement in the 1960s

• Economic boom and innovation

  • Post-war and post-civil war period

  • Massive building of railroads and steam engines

  • Various ages of mass innovation

  • 1873: Governments shift from gold and silver standard to gold standard

• Panic of 1873

Chapter 5: The United States

• The United States experiences a decline in the price of silver

  • This negatively affects silver miners and associated industries

• The decline in silver prices restricts the money supply

  • Restricting the money supply leads to an increase in interest rates

  • This causes a bubble in the economy to burst

• The United States enters a depression from 1873 to 1879

• After recovering from the depression, the United States experiences rapid economic growth

  • A large influx of immigrants from Europe contributes to this growth

  • By 1890, the United States becomes the richest country in the world on a per capita basis

• In 1898, a significant event occurs (details not provided in the transcript)

Chapter 6: The United States

• The United States starts to become an empire

• In 1898, Cuba was a Spanish colony

• Cubans revolted against the Spanish

• The United States sympathized with the Cubans

• The United States sent ships to Havana Harbor to protect American interests

• The US battleship called the Maine exploded and sank in Havana Harbor

Details:

• The United States was not interested in controlling other nations or people

• The Spanish were known for cracking down hard on revolts

• The United States sent ships to protect American interests, similar to the Mexican American war

• The USS Maine exploded and sank in Havana Harbor

• Pictures became relevant in this period of history

Chapter 7: War On Spain

• The sinking of the main

  • People speculate on the cause

  • Some believe Spain blew up the main

  • Conspiracy theorists suggest the US did it intentionally

• Declaration of war on Spain

  • American public and government angered

  • Short-lived war, US emerges victorious

• Consequences of the Spanish American war

  • US becomes an empire

  • Temporary control of Cuba

  • Permanent control of Guam

  • Control of the Philippines until World War 2

  • Puerto Rico becomes US territory

War Breaks Out in Europe

• 1914: Start of World War 1

Chapter 8: Blockade Of British

• The British empire and Germany are the two strongest powers at this time period

• The United States is trying to stay neutral

  • American people have sympathies for the British empire

• The British have a blockade of the Germans

  • The Germans wanted to blockade the British

  • Germany did not have a strong navy

• In 1917, Germany starts sending submarines into the Atlantic

  • They want to harass or blow up ships trading with Great Britain

  • Germany becomes more desperate as the war goes on

Chapter 9: World War

• The US enters the war in 1917 due to German U boats attacking civilian ships

• Germany didn't take the United States seriously until then

• In 1918, the United States played a significant role in turning the tides of the war

• War ends in 1918

• Consequences of the war:

  • Austrian Hungary and the Ottoman Empire cease to exist as nations

  • Germany faces huge reparations by the victors

  • Possible connection between the reparations and World War 2

1920: Amendments and Prohibition

• In 1920, the 18th and 19th amendments are passed

• The 18th amendment enacts prohibition, making alcohol illegal in the United States

• Ironically, this leads to the rise of bootleggers and a crime scene around illegal alcohol

Chapter 10: Conclusion

• The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote

• Before the amendment, there were arguments against women's suffrage

  • One argument was that only men who fought for the country should have the right to vote

  • This argument changed during World War 1

• During World War 1, women had to take up domestic responsibilities while men were fighting

  • Women played a significant role in the war effort by working in factories and producing goods

  • This global shift led to women gaining the right to vote

• In the 1920s, there was a post-war economic boom

  • This boom eventually turned into an economic bubble

  • The bubble burst in 1929 with the stock market crash

• The stock market crash led to the Great Depression

  • The Great Depression was a global economic crisis

  • It lasted until the US entry into World War 2