AP United States History Spring 2020

Week 20

1/27-1/31
Period 7 1898-1945

The 1880s and 1890s were years of turbulence. Disputes erupted over labor relations, currency, tariffs, patronage, and railroads. The most momentous political conflict of the late 19th century was the farmers' revolt. Drought, plagues of grasshoppers, boll weevils, rising costs, falling prices, and high interest rates made it increasingly difficult to make a living as a farmer. Many farmers blamed railroad owners, grain elevator operators, land monopolists, commodity futures dealers, mortgage companies, merchants, bankers, and manufacturers of farm equipment for their plight. Farmers responded by organizing Granges, Farmers' Alliances, and the Populist Party. In the election of 1896, the Populists and the Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan for president. Bryan?s decisive defeat inaugurated a period of Republican ascendancy, in which Republicans controlled the presidency for 24 of the next 32 years. 

Tuesday 1/28

1. Read and take notes in your Analytical Journal
"A Cross of Gold" 527-531
Stirings of Imperialism p. 531-538

C19 Key Terms

1. National Grange                                                  15. "new Manifest Destiny"
2. Farmers Alliance                                                 16. missionary impulse
3. Granger Laws                                                      17.  American Intervention in China 

4. Munn v. Illinois                                                    18. American interventions in Mexico

5. Wabash v. Illinois                                                 19. The De Lome Letter

6. Interstate Commerce Commission 1887            20. General Wyler's reconcentration policy

7. Populism                                                               21. The U.S.S. Maine
8. People's Party                                                       22. Treaty of Paris 1898
9. Omaha Platform                                                   23. Yellow Journalism
10. William Jennings Bryant                                   24. The Spanish-American War

11. Mary Elizabeth Lease                                        25. The Philippine–American War

12. 1896 Election                                                       26. Anti-Imperialist League

13. "Free Silver"                                                       27. Open Door Policy
14. William McKinley                                               28. Annexation of Hawaii
14. Coxy's Army                                                        29. Alfred Thaher Mahan
                                                                                     30. Panama Canal

C19 Essential Questions (posted on google classroom and due Sunday 2/12)

1). What was the National Grange and the Farmers Alliance? Discuss the  rise of the People's Party, their Omaha Platform, and the evolution Populism. Was the Populist movement a success or failure?

2). Why is the election of 1896 considered a watershed in American political history? Who were the candidates and where did they stand on the important national issues of the late 19th century? What was the outcome and legacy of the election? What was the “silver question”? Why was it so important to so many Americans? How did the major political parties deal with this question?


3). How did the us assert its power in the late 19th century what arguments were used to justify overseas expansion? Discuss he variety of factors that motivated the United States to become imperialistic. Discuss the new Manifest Destiny, and how it differed from the old Manifest Destiny. How did the Spanish-American War change America's ­relationship to the rest of the world?


4). Explain the objectives of American foreign policy at the turn of the century with respect to the Carribean, Latin America, and Asia.

What were the main arguments of those who supported U.S. imperialism and those who opposed the nation's ­imperial ambitions and efforts?



Monday 1/27

1. Read and Review webpage

C19 From Crisis to Empire 1890s-1914

     a. Summary

     b. Timeline

     c. Themes 

     d. Digital History Overview and Summary


C19 Connecting Concepts p.515


2. Read and take notes in your Analytical Journal

The Agrarian Revolt p. 520-524

The Crisis of th 1890s p. 524-527