Who is famous for his frontier thesis and advocated for expansion and American imperialism?

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Americans have long mythologized the frontier. It isn't just about stories of past deeds but how Americans connect their history to today. From technology to social ideas, the leading edge of any field is typically referred to as a "frontier," a symbol of settlers creating something entirely new. Frederick Turner Jackson was a historian who looked not just at what had happened in the past but what it meant for people in his time and how it had shaped his present society. How did Frederick Jackson Turner interpret the Frontier in a way that resonated so strongly with other Americans of the late nineteenth century and beyond?

Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis 1893

From the 1851 exhibition in London through 1938, the World's Fair was an installation where advances in science and technology from around the world were shown to the public, while later fairs focused more on cultural issues. The fairs were highly influential, giving the public glimpses of new technologies such as the telephone. It was among one of these expositions, the World's Columbian Exposition, marking the 400th anniversary of Christoper Columbus's arrival, that Jackson delivered his thesis.

1893 World's Columbia Exposition

From the middle of the country, the city of Chicago, Jackson described what he felt the frontier meant to America. Twenty-seven million people attended the fair to see innovations such as the Ferris Wheel before the fair closed two days ahead of its planned six-month run due to the mayor of Chicago's assassination. Turner delivered his speech on the frontier to the American Historical Society gathering. Although his speech had a minor impact at the time, the society reprinted it where it lived on to gain its later stature.

Did you know?

While Turner was delivering his speech, another creator of the mythic western frontier, Buffalo Bill Cody, performed his famous Wild West Show outside the fair.

Turner's Frontier Thesis Summary

Turner viewed the frontier as the essential element in defining the American character. His work began by noting that the bulletin of the Superintendent of the Census for 1890 had recently stated that there was no longer a frontier line and closed by saying that after 400 years of frontier activity, the first period of American history had ended. With the frontier intertwined with the American past, Turner interpreted it as having shaped America.

The central idea of Frederick Turner Jackson's Frontier Thesis is that as families went west into undeveloped lands, liberty, equality, and democracy arose from a condition where the highly developed society to the East was left behind and with it the old culture. At first, this East was Europe and later the East coast of the United States. As urbanization took hold and further moved west with successive waves,

Waves of the Frontier

He viewed the movement into the frontier as occurring in waves, and each waving furthering democracy and equality. As Europeans moved to the East coast of the United States, their struggles for survival and reliance on individual ability gave rise to a spirit of democracy that resulted in the American Revolution. When Americans continued west with the Louisiana Purchase in the early nineteenth century, democracy increased from the Jeffersonian to the Jacksonian periods. The new American culture came not from the high civilizations of Europe, the mixing of various peoples, and the uncivilized influence of the frontier.

Individuality

Individualism has been viewed as the most central piece of American identity. Turner connected that individualism with the necessary development of self-reliance among settlers in the sparsely populated frontier. He believed that the frontier conditions were anti-social, and the representatives of foreign governments coming to assert authority were largely viewed as oppressors by the frontier settlers.

Did you know?

Turner picked out the tax collector in particular as a symbol of oppression to the frontier settlers.

Previous Theories

Turner broke with previous theories about the frontier and American culture by placing the emphasis, not on race but on land. Many American academics at the time believed that as Germanic people conquered the forests of Europe, they were uniquely capable of developing the most excellent forms of society and political thought. Once the Germanic peoples ran out of land, they stagnated until they reached the forests of the Americas, which reawakened German and Anglo-Saxon ingenuity. Others, such as Theodore Roosevelt, held to racial theories based upon the unifying and innovative pressures of racial warfare, as White colonizers battled back Indigenous peoples to take the western land.

Impact of Turner's Frontier Thesis Main Points

The impact of Turner's Frontier Thesis was consequential. Not just academics and historians latched on to the ideas, but politicians and many other American thinkers used Turner's interpretations. The core idea that the American character had been built around the frontier, which was now closed, left the question of how America would continue to grow and evolve in the future without new western land open. Those searching for a new frontier to conquer used Turner's Frontier Thesis to claim their goals as a recent sort of frontier.

Imperialism

With settlers having reached the end of the North American landmass, some wished to continue moving westward across the Pacific Ocean. Asia was a potential location for U.S. territorial expansion in the twentieth century. Scholars of the Wisconsin school studied American diplomacy during the early Cold War. They were influenced by Turner when they saw American diplomacy as primarily being motivated by economic expansion through the frontier and beyond into economic imperialism of the late nineteenth through twentieth centuries.

Historians' theories don't develop in isolation. Thinkers influence and criticize each other. Even more importantly, they build and expand on their colleagues' ideas. One such case is Turner and William Appleman Williams.

Although separated by decades, Turner taught at the University of Wisconsin, where the history faculty later came together around Williams' diplomacy and foreign policy theory. Turner's Frontier Thesis heavily influenced Wiliams's approaches.

The New Deal

With the New Deal, FDR expanded the role of government in Americans' lives. The frontier became an essential metaphor for these changes in the Roosevelt administration, and they often appealed the Turner's Frontier Thesis. FDR described the want and economic insecurity of the Great Depression as a frontier to be conquered.

Although some earlier historians appealed directly to the myth of Germanic peoples, during WWII, Turner's theory was criticized as being too similar to the "Blood and Soil" ideas of Adolf Hitler. Others asked why former Spanish colonies and indigenous populations did not go through the same transformations of thought. Turner's original speech made mention of indigenous people only as symbols representing the brutality of untamed nature and a sort of uncivilized degeneration. He believed the white settlers reverted before developing their democratic and individualist ideas.

Turner's Frontier Thesis - Key Takeaways

• It was first delivered in a speech to the American Historical Society at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.
• Claimed that the sparse population and harsh conditions of the frontier developed the American focus on the individual.
• Viewed westward expansion and the frontier as occurring in waves.
• He believed that each wave further developed democracy in the United States.
• Influential on not just academics but the larger American society.
• Left Americans to search for new frontiers, ranging from imperialism to social and technological developments.

Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis was that settlers moved west across the frontier in waves, each with increasing individualism and democracy. 

Advocates for expansion viewed Turner's Frontier Thesis as reinforcing their idea that America must keep expanding. 

Fredrick Jackson Turner delivered the Frontier Thesis in an 1893 speech in Chicago, Illinois. 

The Safety-Valve Theory is that the frontier acted as a "safety valve" to relieve social pressure by giving the unemplyed in the East somewhere to go and pursue their economic well being.  The idea does not necessarily contradict the Frontier Thesis but addresses a more specific issue about urban social tensions. It was later adopted by Turner himself into his Frontier Thesis.

Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis exposed that American had been defined by the frontier, which was now closed. 

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Who was Frederick Jackson Turner?

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What did Frederick Jackson Turner say was the status of the frontier?

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Where did Frederick Jackson Turner first present his Frontier Thesis?

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What frontier did Franklin Delano Roosevelt say that the New Deal was trying to conquer?

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What audience did Frederick Jackson Turner deliver his frontier thesis to?

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The American Historical Society 

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What central part of the American character did Frederick Jackson Turner tie to the frontier?

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How did Frederick Jackson Turner say that the frontier developed?

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How did theorists before Frederick Jackson Turner use the frontier to explain the development of American society?

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They believed that when Germanic people encountered the forests, their ingenuity returned. 

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What did Frederick Turner Jackson believed increased with each wave of the frontier?

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What did Frederick Jackson Turner had to be lost in the frontier to develop something new?

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Page 2

The 13th Amendment freed enslaved people within America. The 14th Amendment made African Americans citizens. It wasn't until the 15th Amendment that African Americans received the right to vote. African Americans had to fight for this right and when they finally received it, white Southerners found ways to take it away again. Let's take a closer look at the fight for the 15th Amendment!

15th Amendment Summary

Nothing happens in a vacuum, let's explore the context for this amendment. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were all passed during the Reconstruction Era. This was the period after the Civil War when the South was to be reconstructed. It lasted from the end of the Civil War until the Great Compromise of 1877.

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and the 14th defined citizenship and naturalization for immigrants. This was a period of unrest because the Southern states did not like that African Americans were gaining rights. The South would not accept these rights unless they were forced to. The political party in power, the radical republicans, passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867.

This act divided the South into five sections each with a military general in charge. The soldiers would protect the newly established rights of African Americans and enforce other laws and plans established by Congress.

15th Amendment Date

Voting was considered a political right, not a natural right therefore it was up to the state to determine who had the right to vote. The 15th Amendment was passed by Congress in 1869. It would be added to the conditions for Southern states to rejoin the Union. The generals stationed in the different sections would make sure that all eligible voters were registered including African Americans.

15th Amendment Ratified

The 15th Amendment was passed in 1869 but would not be ratified until 1870. This means that Congress passed the article in 1869 but could not get the majority of the House of Representatives to pass it until 1870. The majority means that it has to be two-thirds.

15th Amendment Simplified

• Politicians had three reasons for giving voting rights to African Americans
  • It was the right thing to do
  • It prevented Confederates from gaining power
  • They would vote for Republicans

This amendment was pushed and passed by the radical republican party. They had three reasons for wanting African American male suffrage. It was the right thing to do, it would prevent Confederate politicians from gaining power, and they would vote for Republicans.

Keeping former Confederates out of Congress was very important for reconstruction. The radical republicans wanted to control reconstruction and could not do so if Confederates were in power. Part of the radical republican plan for reconstruction was the enfranchisement of African Americans through rights, education, and government programs.

The 15th Amendment gave voting rights to any man who is an American citizen. It also placed the responsibility of upholding and protecting these rights onto Congress. This included African Americans and people who immigrated to America. There was a large number of Chinese immigrants who came to America looking for work. They often worked in the North on railroads.

Voter Suppression

The 15th Amendment left room for voter suppression. Congress did not want the "unworthy poor" to be able to vote or immigrants. A way of keeping them from voting was allowing for poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses. Let's take a closer look at each of these techniques.

Literacy Tests

When someone went to the poll, they would have to read a section of the Constitution. If they could not read it, then they had to explain it to whoever was administering the test. The administrator would determine whether or not the person could vote. In the South, this was used to prevent African Americans from voting.

Most African Americans were formerly enslaved. It was illegal for an enslaved person to learn to read so many African Americans were illiterate. They could not read, and the Constitution had never been explained to them. The administrators were white men. When an African American passed the test, the administrator lied and said that they didn't.

Poll Taxes

It cost one dollar to vote. This might seem like a small amount of money today but for an impoverished person in the 19th century, this was a great deal of money. Many African Americans worked as sharecroppers and had to buy food and supplies on credit. They truly could not afford the one dollar that it cost to vote.

Grandfather Clauses

Politicians did not want to prevent white men from voting and many poor white men were illiterate. If someone's father or grandfather could vote before 1867 then he could vote without passing the literacy test or paying the fee. Black people were only able to vote after 1870 so this clause only applied to white men.

Fear Tactics

African Americans who could pass the literacy test and afford the one dollar then had to deal with white mobs. These mobs patrolled voting booths and would fight and sometimes kill black men who were voting. This turned into a lawsuit that went all the way to the Supreme Court in the US vs Cruikshank case. The Supreme Court decided that Congress could not intervene as long as politicians were not preventing Black voters. If private individuals or groups did then it was not a federal matter.

The Voting Rights Act of 1865 made poll taxes, literacy tests, and other forms of voter suppression illegal. During the following decades, more voting rights acts were passed to further protect American voters.

The 15th Amendment did not include women or Native Americans. White and black women supported the 15th Amendment believing that everyone would get the right to vote. Though that was not the case. Even though some of the largest African American suffrage leaders were also active in women's suffrage, like Franklin Douglass, the African American male suffrage movement wanted to remain separate from the women's cause.

This created a divide within the women's suffrage movement where some women stayed and advocated for black male voting rights while others separated and focused on women's voting rights. Often white women would insult African Americans because they were able to vote when the white women could not. Women would not be able to vote until 1920.

Native Americans were not considered citizens therefore they could not vote. They would not be given the right to vote until 1924. Even then it was left to the state to decide if the indigenous person could vote. It would not be until 1948 that indigenous people could vote in every state. They still had to pass literacy tests and pay poll taxes.

Significance of the 15th Amendment

The 15th Amendment signified a time of change. Even though African American voting would be suppressed in the South for the following 70 or so years, African Americans were gaining rights. Political power is an important contribution to change. As African Americans gained political power, they were able to change America.

15th Amendment - Key takeaways

• The 15th Amendment was passed in 1869 and gave African American men the right to vote.
• Each former Confederate state had to ratify the 15th Amendment before it could rejoin the Union.
• Even though the 15th Amendment gave African American men the right to vote, Southern Democrats found ways to suppress their votes.
• Literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses, and fear tactics were used to prevent African Americans from voting.
• The 15th Amendment excluded women of all races and Native Americans.

The 15th Amendment gave all American men the right to vote including African American men and immigrants who became citizens.

The 15th Amendment gave all American men the right to vote including African American men and immigrants who became citizens.

The 15th Amendment was passed by Congress in 1869 and ratified in 1870.

The 15th Amendment was passed by Congress in 1869 and ratified in 1870.

The 15th Amendment gave all American men the right to vote including African American men and immigrants who became citizens.

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What did the 15ht Amendment do?

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Gave voting rights to all American male citizens 

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Which of these groups did the 15th Amendment not extend to?

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Which act enforced the reconstruction amendments?

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Reconstruction Act of 1867

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What year was the 15th Amendment ratified?

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How many votes were needed to ratify the 15th Amendment?

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Republicans wanted African Americans to vote to keep ___ out of office?

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What did the second section of the 15th Amendment do?

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Gave Congress the power to enforce the amendment 

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Which of the following was not a form of voter suppresion?

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Which act outlawed voter suppression in the form of literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses?

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When were women able to vote?

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Page 3

Martin Luther, a Catholic monk, wrote a document referred to as 95 Theses, that changed Western Christian religion forever. What made a devout monk openly criticize the Church? What was written in the 95 Theses that made it so important? Let's look at the 95 Theses and Martin Luther!

95 Theses Definition

On October 31, 1417, in Wittenberg, Germany Martin Luther hung his 95 Theses on the door outside of his church. The first two theses were the issues that Luther had with the Catholic Church and the rest were the arguments that he could have with people about these issues.

Martin Luther and the 95 Theses

Martin Luther intended to be a lawyer until he was stuck in a deadly storm. Luther swore an oath to God that if he lived then he would become a monk. True to his word, Luther became a monk and then completed his doctoral program. Eventually, he had his very own church in Wittenberg, Germany.

95 Theses Summary

Over in Rome in 1515, Pope Leo X wanted to renovate St. Peter's Basilica. The Pope permitted the sale of indulgences to raise money for this construction project. Indulgences challenged Luther's view of Christianity. If a priest sold an indulgence, then the person who received it paid for forgiveness. The forgiveness of their sins did not come from God but the priest.

Luther believed that forgiveness and salvation could only come from God. A person could also buy indulgences on behalf of other people. One could even buy an indulgence for a dead person to shorten their stay in Purgatory. This practice was illegal in Germany but one day Luther's congregation told him that they would no longer need confessionals because their sins had been forgiven through indulgences.

95 Theses Date

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther went outside of his church and hammered his 95 Theses to the Church wall. This sounds dramatic but historians think it probably wasn't. Luther's theses took off and were soon translated to different languages. It even made its way to Pope Leo X!

The Catholic Church

The Catholic Church was the only Christian church in existence at this time, there were no Baptists, Presbyterians, or Protestants. The Church (meaning the Catholic Church) also provided the only welfare programs. They fed the hungry, gave shelter to the poor, and provided medical care. The only education available was through the Catholic Church. Faith was not the only reason people attended church. At church, they could show off their status and socialize.

The pope was extremely powerful. The Catholic Church owned one-third of the land in Europe. The pope also had power over kings. This is because kings were thought to be appointed by God and the pope was a direct link to God. The pope would advise kings and could heavily influence wars and other political struggles.

When going forward, remember how important and powerful the Catholic Church was. This will offer context to the Protestant Reformation.

95 Theses Summary

The first two theses are about indulgences and why they are immoral. The first thesis refers to God as the only being who can grant forgiveness from sins. Luther was very dedicated to the belief that God could grant forgiveness to anyone who prayed for it.

The second thesis was directly calling out the Catholic Church. Luther reminds the reader that the church does not have the authority to forgive sins so when they sell indulgences, they are selling something they do not have. If God is the only one who can forgive sins and the indulgences weren't bought from God, then they are fake.

1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ``Repent'' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
2. This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.

The rest of the theses are providing evidence of Luther's first two claims. These are written as arguing points. Luther opens the door that if anyone found fought in any of his points then they could write him and they would debate. The point of the theses was not to destroy the Catholic church but to reform it. The 95 Theses were translated from Latin to German and were read by people all over the country!

Luther wrote the theses in a conversational tone. While it was written in Latin, this would not be for the clergy alone. This would also be for the Catholics who, in Luther's eyes, wasted their money on indulgences. Luther proposed a reform of the Catholic Church. He was not trying to strike out and create a new form of Christianity.

Martin Luther no longer believed that priests could forgive people of their sins on behalf of God. He had a completely radical idea that people could confess in prayer on their own and God would forgive them. Luther also believed that the bible should be translated into German so that everyone could read it. At this point, it was written in Latin and only the clergy could read it.

The Gutenberg Printing Press and the Protestant Reformation

Martin Luther was not the first educated person to go up against the Catholic Church but he is the first to start a reformation. What made him different? In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. This made information spread quicker than it had previously. While historians are still researching the effect of the printing press on the Protestant Reformation, most agree that the Reformation would not have happened without it.

95 Theses Effect on Europe

Luther was excommunicated from the church while the 95 Theses sparked the Protestant Reformation. This was also a political reform. It eventually took away the majority of the pope's power removing his role as a political leader and leaving him as a spiritual leader. The nobility began to break from the Catholic Church because they could then dissolve the church's landholdings and keep the profits. Nobles who were monks could leave the Catholics and get married then produce heirs.

Through the Protestant Reformation people were able to get a German translation of the bible. Anyone who was literate could read the bible for themselves. No longer did they have to rely so heavily on the priests. This created different denominations of Christianity that did not follow the same rules as the Catholic Church or each other's. This also sparked the German Peasant Revolt which was the largest peasant revolt at that time.

95 Theses - Key takeaways

• The 95 Theses was originally a response to the sale of Indulgences
• The Catholic Church was a social, political, and spiritual world power
• The 95 Theses sparked the Protestant Reformation which eventually drastically diminished the power of the Catholic Church

The 95 Theses was a document posted by Martin Luther. It was written so the Catholic Church would reform.

The 95 Theses was posted on October 31st, 1517 in Wittenberg, Germany.

Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses so that the Catholic Church would reform and stop selling indulgences. 

Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses.

The first two theses were against the sale of indulgences the rest of the theses backed up that claim. 

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When were the 95 Theses written? 

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Where was the 95 Theses posted?

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When someone is removed from the Catholic church because of their actions it is called ________.

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What were tokens that could be purchased by anyone that meant the buyer's sins had been forgiven?

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Why did Pope Leo X allow Catholics to start back selling indulgences?

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To Fund the restoration of St. Peter's Basilica

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What was the first thesis about?

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Only God can forgive people of their sins

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What was the second thesis about?

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The Catholic Church did not have the authority to forgive people of their sins

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What were the third through ninety-nine theses about?

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They were points that backed up the first two theses. 

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What invention helped the spread of the Protestant Reformation?

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The Gutenberg Printing Press

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What reformation was sparked by the Ninety-Five Theses?

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True/False

Nobles broke from the Catholic Church then dissolved the Church's holdings so that they could keep the revenue.

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True/False 

Before the Protestant Reformation, there were plenty of denominations of Christians.

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Which book did Luther translate into German that greatly influenced the Protestant Reformation?

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Who did Martin Luther think that people needed to forgive their sins?

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It is difficult to say what America's experience in the 21st century will be because we are only two decades in. What we can do is look at what Americans have accomplished. The presidents, social awareness, significant events, and achievements can tell much about present-day America. Let's take a closer look at 21st-century America so far!

21st Century America Summary

The 21st century began with the election of 2000, and America has seen three more presidencies since. There were natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the Covid Pandemic. Major human rights events have occurred, like the legalization of same-sex marriage and the progress brought on by the Black Lives Matter Movement. The 21st century has been very eventful; let's examine these events!

1992 Presidential Election

Before we jump into the 21st Century, let's look at the election of 1992. This election had three primary candidates. Up for re-election from the Republican party was George H. W. Bush. Bush had many accomplishments during his previous term, but an economic downfall caused his support to waiver. The Democrat party offered Bill Clinton. Clinton was a "New Democrat" and represented change. A third-party candidate, Ross Perot, also ran. Though he didn't win, Perot took votes away from the Republican candidate. Bill Clinton won the 1992 election. This signaled that America was ready for a change going into the 21st century!

21st Century American Presidents

America has seen four presidents since 2000, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and the current president (at the time of writing this article!) Joe Biden. Bush and Trump were Republicans, while Obama and Biden were Democrats.

George W. Bush (2000-2008)

The stakes for America are never small. If our country does not lead the cause of freedom, it will not be led."

-George W. Bush 4

George W. Bush became president in 2000. His presidency was thrust into action on September 11, 2001. Terrorists hijacked four planes and crashed two into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, one into the Pentagon, and the last crashed into a Pennsylvania field because the passengers gained control over it. This tragic event is referred to as 9-11 by Americans who still remember the loss of life, from the passengers to the people within the buildings to the first responders.

The War on Terror

Bush launched the Patriot Act, which allowed the government to monitor civilians' phones and emails to find terrorists. The Department of Homeland Security was established, and the War on Terror began. Bush's War on Terror involved the United States and Great Britain, Russia, France, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The president sent the military into Afghanistan to capture Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the Taliban that claimed responsibility for 9-11.

It is highly debated if the Taliban was responsible for 9-11. While they claimed responsibility, they often did so for any terrorist event, even if they weren't responsible. Their goal was to spread terror, claiming different events made the organization seem larger and scarier than it was.

In 2003, Bush claimed to suspect Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. American soldiers would go on to invade and occupy Iraq through Operation Iraqi Freedom for twenty years and never find proof of weapons of mass destruction. The War on Terror initially had the support of the American people, but after several years without results, Americans' faith wavered. They questioned if the cost of human lives was even worth it.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. Katrina was a category 5 hurricane that killed more than 1,300 people and caused 13 billion dollars worth of damages. Critics believed that Bush's response to Katrina was weak. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) didn't do enough, and what it did do was too late.

I want future generations to know that we are a people who see our differences as a great gift, that we’re a people who value the dignity and worth of every citizen -- man and woman, young and old, black and white, Latino, Asian, immigrant, Native American, gay, straight, Americans with mental illness or physical disability. Everybody matters." 3

-Barack Obama

Barack Obama was the first African American to become president, but he inherited an unofficial war from the Bush Administration. Obama allowed troops to remain in Afghanistan and Iraq but wouldn't let America become involved with the Syrian Civil War. Critics argued that Obama was too weak regarding foreign affairs in the Middle East. Obama also allowed drone strikes in the Middle East to kill Isis, a new terrorist organization threat. These strikes killed Isis targets but also innocent civilians.

America was also in the worst economic remission since the Great Depression at the start of the Obama administration. Obama passed the Recovery Act and the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). The Recovery Act created infrastructure projects to put Americans back to work, while Obamacare created affordable insurance. Obama tried to increase the minimum wage nationwide but was struck down by Congress. This did encourage many states to raise the minimum wage.

Donald Trump (2016-2020)

Donald Trump was elected into office promising to "Make America Great Again." One of his campaign promises was to build a wall that would keep immigrants from Mexico out of America and that the Mexican government would pay for it. By the end of his campaign, only a few miles, the wall had been put up in places with no previous defenses. The Mexican government didn't pay for it.

I think we’re gonna be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that’s going to, sort of, just disappear—I hope" 1

-Donald Trump

In 2020, the Coronavirus spread throughout America, causing America to enter a global pandemic. Critics of Trump believed that he did not do enough to slow the spread of the virus. Trump believed that "it (the coronavirus) miraculously goes away." After the vaccine was released in December 2020, critics believed that Trump didn't properly encourage Americans to get vaccinated.

Trump was the third American president impeached by the House of Representatives and the first president to be impeached twice. A conservative majority Senate acquitted him during both impeachment trials, so Trump was not removed from office. Trump's first impeachment occurred because he attempted to bribe Ukraine to find damaging information on his political opponent, Joe Biden. The second article of impeachment came from the House of Representatives due to Trump's connections with the rioters' actions during the January 6th insurrection at the US Captial.

Joe Biden (2020 -)

Joe Biden is the current President of the United States and was Barack Obama's vice president. In 2020 America's unemployment rate had risen to 6.3, but Biden reduced it to 3.9. Unemployment has not seen a reduction this drastic since 1969. Biden issued a Covid Relief plan that spent 1.9 trillion dollars to give American adults 1,400 dollars. Biden re-entered the Paris Climate Accord, which Trump had left. The Climate Accord was an agreement between multiple countries to control climate change.

But . . . within the growing catastrophe, I believe there’s an incredible opportunity . . . . We have the ability to invest in ourselves and build an equitable clean-energy future and in the process create millions of good-paying jobs [while we] create an environment that raises the standard of living around the world. 2

-Joe Biden

Joe Biden's presidency is continuing, and we won't know the full scale of it until it has ended.

American Culture in the 21st Century

America has shifted its values in the 21st Century. Activist groups that support human rights and represent marginalized communities are a part of this. Third-wave feminism was popular in the 2000s but shifted to the fourth wave in the mid-2010s. The fourth wave is categorized by its use of social media in the information age.

Civil Rights Activists have formed groups like Black Lives Matter, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and the Me Too movement to raise awareness for marginalized groups. The Black Lives Matter movement raises awareness about police brutality against African Americans. The Me Too movement empowers victims of sexual assault to come forward and seek justice. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement raises awareness about the high numbers of missing and murdered Native American women.

Major Events in 21st-Century America

There were many significant events in America during the 21st Century; let's take a moment to highlight two of these: Hurricane Katrina and the Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage.

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina touchdown in the Southern United States in August 2005; though it affected multiple states, the most damage was done in Louisiana. The American government was informed that a category five hurricane would strike. Government officials had six days to evacuate and prepare Louisiana for the hurricane's touchdown. The government's handling of Katrina was a failure.

Evacuation of New Orleans, the state capital, only began 24 hours before touchdown, even though the government knew it would take 72 hours to evacuate the city fully. Refugees were told that the Super Dome Stadium was safe to bunker down. The stadium did not have enough food or water, and the people left there had to wait five days after the storm to get supplies.

The immediate support of victims of Katrina was a failure because of the government's slow response. It was not declared national significance until 36 hours after the hurricane ended. At least 1,833 people died, and 80% of New Orleans was flooded.

Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage

In 2015, the Supreme Court found denying same-sex couples marriage rights was unconstitutional in the Obergefell Vs Hodges case. All states had to recognize the rights of same-sex married couples, which were to be the same as the rights of heterosexual couples.

This landmark decision was because marriage was defined as between a man and a woman in defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) of 1996. Homosexual couples were denied over 1,000 benefits that come from marriage.

American Achievements in the 21st Century

America has made many achievements in the 21st century. In 2004 Mark Zuckerberg launched the social media platform Facebook, which would revolutionize online communication. In 2007, Steve Jobs released the first iPhone. The 21st Century has introduced new technologies at a fast pace.

America in the 21st Century

America has had many accomplishments and setbacks in the 21st century. It is difficult to say what the 21st century will mean on the greater scale of history because we are only two decades into it. We can say that this century has already been quite eventful and will most likely continue to do so.

21st Century America - Key takeaways

• America has had four presidents in the 21st century:
  • George W. Bush
  • Barack Obama
  • Donald Trump
  • Joe Biden
• Activist groups continue to spread awareness
• Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana in 2005
• Same-sex marriage was legalized in 2015

A 21st century American is someone who is living in America in the 21st century.

America will survive the 21st century. We have already seen many social changes in America in the first twenty years of the 21st century but cannot predict the outcome of these changes. 

America is still a post-slavery country meaning that slavery still affects America today. This is evident in the wage discrepancy, employment discrepancy, and white supremacy that still exist today.

The significant problems in 21st century America include but are not limited to human rights and climate control. 

The 21st century American dream is to achieve a comfortable life through hard work. 

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Who won over 50% of the popular vote? 

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Which candidate ran an independent political campaign?

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What became the primary campaign issue on the minds of the voters?

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The economy (in recession)

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Which candidate pushed for election reform and transparency? 

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In 1992, America had recently been successful in which of the following?

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The winner of the electoral vote also won the popular vote.

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The election contained the strongest third-party results since the election of 1912.

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George H.W. Bush ran for re-election against Democrat Ross Perot and a third-party reformer - Bill Clinton

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What is an economic recession?

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A significant decline in economic activity lasting months or years. 

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The 1992 election featured 

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a focus on the ongoing Cold War

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Bill Clinton was a self-proclaimed..

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What was the result of the 1992 election?

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Bill Clinton took office with a new, moderate approach.

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How can we characterize the role of a third party in American politics as a result of this election?

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A third party was shown to be unable to gain double-digit popular support

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Whose "no new taxes"  impacted his candidacy?

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In which state did media scrutiny and legal challenges result in a recount of votes?

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What job did Bush hold in 2000?

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What job did Gore hold in 2000?

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Who was the U.S. President that Gore served under as Vice-President?

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Which third-party candidate received the third-highest amount of popular votes in the 2000 Election?

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What is minimum number of electoral votes needed in order to win in the Electoral College?

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Which of the following statements is true?

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George W. Bush was the son of a U.S. President and brother of the Governor of Maine.

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Which of the following statements is false?

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Al Gore won the electoral vote but lost the popular vote

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The recount of ballots in Florida was impacted by the decision of which institution?

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The 2000 election was the first instance of a presidential candidate winning the electoral vote but losing the popular vote.

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Political polls leading up to the election predicted a strong win by Al Gore.

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America watched the 2000 election and followed issues including which of the following?

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Who was the 2008 Democratic nominee?

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Who was the 2008 Republican nominee?

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What war was going on during the 2008 campaign?

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John McCain's record on reform issues and taking unpopular stances earned him what characterization?

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During the election, Barack Obama and John McCain were both....

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Obama's election in 2008 was controversial because he won the popular vote but not the electoral vote.

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Which factors greatly impacted the 2008 election?

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How could we characterize McCain's military service?

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U.S. Air Force pilot who narrowly evaded capture by enemy forces

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Which campaign challenged the state of the economy and handling by the current administration?

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In the 2008 election, which demographic was won by Obama?

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Obama was a Senator from which state?

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McCain was a Senator from which state?

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Obama's election victory was seen by many as a victory for race relations in America.

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Mitt Romney faced primary challengers who were more _____

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Who was the Democratic nominee in the 2012 election?

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Who was the Republican nominee in the 2012 election?

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Who was the incumbent in the 2012 Presidential election?

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What political position had Mitt Romney held before the 2012 election?

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Who won the 2012 presidential election?

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What controversial response did Barack Obama to the Great Recession?

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What did Mitt Romney controversially say was true about 47% of Americans?

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They don't pay taxes and are dependent on the government

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What Obama program was unpopular with conservatives and Romney tried to differentiate from his program as Masschusetts state governor?

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What did Mitt Romney manage that gave him public exposure before he entered politics?

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Which US president launched the Patriot Act and created the Department of Homeland Security?

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