Study Sheet ­ Reminders
Booker T. Washington: In the 1800s, Booker T. Washington was an early African
American leader and champion of the idea that African Americans should pursue
vocational training and education as the best means to improving their standing in
American society. He believed that "getting good" at some vocational skill would earn
respect and from this would develop a true and meaningful acceptance and equality
in American society. Click here for a practice question.
W.E.B. Du Bois: Like Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois was an African
American leader who wanted to advance African Americans in society. Du Bois
differed from Booker T. Washington in that he believed government action and law
was needed to enhance the position of African Americans in society. He started the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) which is still
active and in existence until this day. This organization was created as a means to
bring about equality, social justice and equal rights. Click here for a practice question.
Jane Addams: she was a "social reformer" during the Progressive Era (late 1800s).
She set up a hotel like place called "Hull House" which provided shelter, food and
some medical assistance to help the poor and newly arriving immigrants. Her work
was all charitable and based on a popular ideology of that era known as the "Social
Gospel" ­ a philosophy/ideology that believed Christian charity and compassion
should be applied in real world situations to help humanity and those who are down
on their luck or struggling. Jane Addams, along with other social reformers of that era
used a wide variety of ways and methods to acheive their goals. Jane Addams and
Hull House were covered in class, your notebook, and study sheet handout. Click here
for a practice question.
Roosevelt Corollary: this is President Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy which is
an addition to ­ a strengthening and enhancement of the Monroe Doctrine. We
covered this extensively in class, in your notebook, homework write ups and study
sheet handout ­ refer to them for further detail. It is heavily covered in your
notebook and study sheet handout ­ refer to them for further detail. Click here for a
practice questions.
Big Stick Policy: this is President Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy, mostly in
South America, where interraction with foreign countries was enacted by negotiating
peacefully with them, while simultaneously threatening them with military action ­­
the military action being the "big stick." The Big Stick Policy was a part of the
Roosevelt Corollary. We covered this extensively in class, in your notebook,
homework write ups and study sheet handout ­ refer to them for further detail. It is
heavily covered in your notebook and study sheet handout ­ refer to them for further
detail. Click here for some practice questions.
Federal Reserve System: recall that this was set up during the presidency of
Woodrow Wilson, in 1913 (during WWI). It was designed to "regulate the nation's
money supply." It controls and manipulates "interest rates" as a means to heat up or
cool down an economy. Click here for a practice question. And here...
Panama Canal: the United States under president Theodore Roosevelt built the
Panama Canal so the powerful U.S. Navy ships and private U.S. shipping companies
could move much faster in the oceans in order to dramatically increase trade and
military power in the region. In order to do this, President Theodore Roosevelt had to
acquire rights from France and instigate a political revolution in the nation of
Colombia thus forming the nation of Panama. Click here for a practice question.
Social Darwinism: this was theory, connected with "laissez­faire" and what some
say was "monopolistic" favoring monopolies ­­ all promoting the idea that monopolies
and large corporations will and should be free to overcome their weaker competition
as this was purely a "survival of the fittest" strategy. According to Social darwinism,
more powerful businesses have every right to overwhelm their weaker competitors ­
even to destroy them by putting them out of business. When a business goes "out of
business" it's because they were too weak to survive. It's important to remember (as
we discussed in class) that Charles Darwin did NOT come up with the phrase
"survivial of the fittest." Rather, the phrase, along with Social Darwinism itself came
from a philosopher/economist named Herbert Spencer. Social darwinism is almost
always on the Regents exam. You already know it well from class, your notebook,
study sheets and various assignments. Here it is again as a "reminder." Click here for
a practice question. And another here. And another here.
Robberbarons: these were also known as the "captains of industry." Recall from
class and your various assignments that these men were ruthless when it came to
destroying their competition (thus creating monopolies). However, it is also important
to remember that these men were exceedingly generous. They practiced
"philanthropy" and some of them, most notably Andrew Carnegie, gave away almost
ALL of their money for the public good (Carnegie Hall is one example as well as
numerous libraries, universities and colleges across the nation). Many "captains of
industry" (Robberbarons?) of today such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and others
claim to follow this tradition of philanthropy themselves ­ the idea they borrowed
from the 19th Century robberbarons. Some famous so­called "robberbarons" were:
John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Corneilius Vanderbilt, J.P. Morgan and
numerous others. The Robberbarons are almost always on the Regents exam. Click
here for a practice question. And another here. And another here. And another here.
Immigrants (Late 1800s­Early 1900s): these "new immigrants" at the time came
mostly from Southern European (Italian/Catholic) and Eastern European
(Russia/Jewish). They experienced much discrimination at first because they were
culturally very different from the earlier immigrants who came from England,
Germany, Scandanavia and the like. Recall the harsh discrimination against "Sacco &
Vanzetti" of which we covered extensively in class. Recall that this is known as
"nativism" (a prejudice, hostility against immigrants). These immigrants and the
Sacco & Vanzetti trial are almost always on the Regents exam. Click here for a
practice question. And another here.
Palmer Raids: occured after WWI. Sometimes referred to as "Red Scare 1" (the first
red scare). Based on nativism ­ the distrust of immigrants ­ the Palmer Raids were a
series of law enforcement raids, mostly in the 1920s, by the federal government that
arrested and deported those immigrants believed to be communists and Italian
immigrants who were viewed as dangerous anarchists. Many believe the Palmer Raids
were unconstitutional, sometimes denying the accused of due process of law (fair
treatment at law). The Palmer Raids are sometimes, though not always, represented
on the Regents exam. Be prepared! Study your notebook, study sheets and reflect
upon our class discussions and homework assignments. Click here for a practice
question.
Nativism: a distrust and dislike of immigrants ­ usually the "newest group of
immigrants." Nativism was very active during the 1920s; particularly against Italian
catholic immigrants and Russian jewish immigrants. Nativism once again resurfaced
after WWII in the 1950s with McCarthyism (Red Scare 2). McCarthyism however did
not discriminate based on culture per­se but more so against communism itself.
Japanese Internment during WWII was another example of "nativism" where
Japanese American citizens were terribly discriminated against without just cause.
The Chinese Exclusion Act was yet another example of nativism, wherein Chinese
immigrants faced discrimination leading to heavy quotas placed upon Chinese
immigration during the late 1800s. Nativism is almost always represented on the
Regents exam. We have covered this topic extensively in class and in our various
assignments. Refer to your notebooks and study sheet. Click here for a practice
question. And another here.