U. S. History (1865-Present): From Reconstruction Through the Dawn of the 21st Century »

Homework Helpers: U.S. History (1865-Present) is designed to help students master the material and tackle the tests. It will help any student remember and learn the many facts about the people, places, and things from the end of the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era all the way to 9/11 and the War on Terrorism. Each chapter focuses on a major theme and explains it with a variety of diagrams, charts, and maps. Each chapter also contains detailed questions that allow students to assess how well they've mastered various concepts. Not only are the right answers to these self-study questions included, but also detailed explanations as to why the wrong answers are wrong. Whether used as a stand-alone text or to supplement a poorly written or badly organized "official" text, each volume in the Homework Helpers series is just what students need to boost their confidence and give them the tools they need to succeed in the most challenging classes or on the most difficult tests.

About the Author:
Ron Olson, a faculty member at The Achiever School at Clover Park High School in Lakewood, Washington

Introduction     9
Reconstruction (1865-1877)     11
Reconstruction: Executive or Legislative Decision?     12
The Terms of the Radical Republicans     15
Impeachment Crisis     15
Congressional Reconstruction Continues     16
Free Blacks in a White Society     17
Compromise and Retreat     19
Distractions of Corruption and Dissent     20
The End of Reconstruction     21
The Wild, Wild West     29
Golden Spikes and the Iron Horse     30
Changing Cultural Identity of Native Americans     32
Cattle Kingdom     35
Boom-and-Bust Cycle     36
Settlers and Culture     37
The Era of Big Business: America in the Gilded Age     43
Big Labor and Economic Growth     44
Big Men in Business     45
The Government and Big Business     47
Labor Problems and Unrest     49
America in the Gilded Age: Politics, Innovations, and Growth     57
Politics in an Era of Challenges     58
The Struggles of Farmers     59
The Panic of 1893     60
Technology and Consumerism     62
"Give Me Your Tired,Your Poor..."     64
The Age of Imperialism: The United States on the World Stage     71
Visions of Empire     72
Clash of Imperialists and Anti-Imperialists     73
The Spanish-American War     73
Sugar, Pineapples, and Pearl Harbor     75
Legacy of Victory: Cuba and the Philippines     76
Opening Doors in China     77
The Big Ditch     78
In Limbo     79
The Progressive Era     85
The Need for Change: Social, Political, and Economic     86
Urban Renewal     86
Muckrakers and a Message for Change     87
Prohibition     88
Dealing With Racism     88
Women's Issues     89
Labor Strife     90
Local Government Reform     92
"Square Deal": Roosevelt in the White House     92
"Dollar Diplomacy": Taft in the White House     94
"New Freedom": Wilson in the White House     96
World War I     103
The Great War: The War to End All Wars     104
"To Make the World Safe for Democracy..."     108
Treaty of Versailles Negotiations     111
Post-War America     113
The Roaring '20s     121
"A Return to Normalcy"     122
A Decade of Prosperity: Economic and Political Challenges     124
Social and Racial Tensions     126
The Jazz Age: Culture in the 1920s     128
The "Lost Generation"     130
Popular Culture and Entertainment     131
From Boom to Bust     132
The Great Depression and the New Deal     139
The Crash: From Bulls to Bears     140
From Hope to a New Deal     142
A New Deal: Recovery, Reform, Relief     144
The 2nd New Deal     148
Popular Culture of the 1930s     150
Legacies and Limitations of the New Deal     151
World War II     157
The Road to War     158
The Challenge to Isolationism     159
Hitler and Western Europe (1939-41)     161
The Attack at Pearl Harbor     161
The War on the Home Front     163
Japanese Internment     165
Re-Election and Succession     166
Advancing the War Effort     166
The Manhattan Project     168
Negotiating Peace for a New World Order     169
War Crimes Trials at Nuremberg      170
Post-War Settlement in Asia     170
The United Nations     171
The Early Years of the Cold War     177
The Cold War Begins: The United States vs. the USSR     178
Rebuilding War-Torn Countries     179
The Arms Race     181
The Berlin Blockade and a Divided Germany     182
NATO and the Warsaw Pact     183
Crisis in Asia     184
The Red Scare in America     186
The Space Race     188
Brinksmanship     189
Domestic Challenges in the 1950s     197
Domestic Policies of Truman and Eisenhower     198
Social Trends of the 1950s     200
American Culture Takes Shape     204
The Civil Rights Movement     209
The Movement Takes Shape     210
The Supreme Court Weighs In     211
Tragedy in Mississippi     211
The Movement Gains Momentum     212
Crisis in Little Rock     213
Civil Rights in the Turbulent 1960s     213
The Black Power Movement and Nonviolence     217
The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.     218
Domestic and Foreign Crisis in the Turbulent 1960s     225
JFK and the New Frontier     226
LBJ and the Great Society     228
Turbulence in the Cold War     230
The Raging Conflict in Vietnam     232
More Social Activism in the 1960s     235
From Watergate to Reaganomics     243
The Nixon Presidency: Secret Plans and Detente     244
OPEC     246
Watergate: Break-In and Cover-Up     243
Domestic Issues     249
Ford: "WIN"     250
Carter: Human Rights and Hostage Crisis     251
Reaganomics and "Win One for the Gipper"     253
Foreign Affairs and the "Evil Empire"     255
A New World Order     263
George H.W. Bush: A Kinder, Gentler...     264
The Clinton Era: A New Kind of Democrat     267
George W. Bush: Governor Turned President     271
Answer Key     279
Resources     307
Bibliography     311
Index     313
About the Author     319