The United States emerged as a world economic and military power after 1890

The United States emerged as a world economic and military power after 1890. The main episode was the Spanish–American War, which began when Spain refused American demands to reform its oppressive policies in Cuba.^[101] SONY VGN-FE11M laptop keyboard

The "splendid little war", as one official called it, involved a series of quick American victories on land and at sea. At the Treaty of Paris peace conference the United States acquired the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam.^[102]

Cuba became an independent country, under close American tutelage. TOSHIBA Satellite L750-ST4NX1 laptop keyboard

Although the war itself was widely popular, the peace terms proved controversial. William Jennings Bryan led his Democratic Party in opposition to control of the Philippines, which he denounced as imperialism unbecoming to American democracy.^[102]President William McKinley defended the acquisition and was riding high as the nation had returned to prosperity and felt triumphant in the war. ASUS X53S laptop keyboard

McKinley easily defeated Bryan in a rematch in the 1900 presidential election.^[103]

After defeating an insurrection by Filipino nationalists, the United States engaged in a large-scale program to modernize the economy of the Philippines and dramatically upgrade the public health facilities.^[104] Acer eMachines E640 laptop keyboard

By 1908, however, Americans lost interest in an empire and turned their international attention to the Caribbean, especially the building of the Panama Canal. In 1912 when Arizona became the final state of the mainland USA the American Frontier came to an end. The canal opened in 1914 and increased trade with Japan and the rest of the Far East. TOSHIBA Satellite L655-S5107 laptop keyboard

A key innovation was the Open Door Policy, whereby the imperial powers were given equal access to Chinese business, with not one of them allowed to take control of China.

As World War I raged in Europe from 1914, President Woodrow Wilson took full control of foreign policy, HP Pavilion DV6z artist edition 2 laptop keyboard

declaring neutrality but warning Germany that resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare against American ships supplying goods to Allied nations would mean war. Germany decided to take the risk and try to win by cutting off supplies to Britain; the U.S. declared war in April 1917.^[106] SONY VAIO VGN-N250E/B laptop keyboard

American money, food, and munitions arrived quickly, but troops had to be drafted and trained; by summer 1918 American soldiers under General John J. Pershing arrived at the rate of 10,000 a day, while Germany was unable to replace its losses.^[107]

The result was Allied victory in November 1918. HP Pavilion DV7-3067nr laptop keyboard

President Wilson demanded Germany depose the Kaiser and accept his terms, theFourteen Points. Wilson dominated the 1919 Paris Peace Conference but Germany was treated harshly by the Allies in the Treaty of Versailles (1919) as Wilson put all his hopes in the new League of Nations. HP Pavilion dv6-3001so laptop keyboard

Wilson refused to compromise with Senate Republicans over the issue of Congressional power to declare war, and the Senate rejected the Treaty and the League.

The women's suffrage movement began with the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, aHP HDX18-1100 CTO laptop keyboard

nd the Declaration of Sentiments demanding equal rights for women. Many of the activists became politically aware during the abolitionist movement. The women's rights campaign during "first-wave feminism" was led by Mott, Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony, among many others. SONY VAIO VGN-N21E/W laptop keyboard

The movement reorganized after the Civil War, gaining experienced campaigners, many of whom had worked for prohibition in the Women's Christian Temperance Union. By the end of the 19th century a few western states had granted women full voting rights,^[109] though women had made significant legal victories, gaining rights in areas such as property and child custody.^[110] HP Pavilion dv5-1118tx laptop keyboard

Around 1912 the feminist movement, which had grown sluggish, began to reawaken, putting an emphasis on its demands for equality and arguing that the corruption of American politics demanded purification by women because men could not do that job.^[111] Protests became increasingly common as suffragette Alice Paul led parades through the capital and major cities. HP AEUT5U00010 laptop keyboard

Paul split from the largeNational American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), which favored a more moderate approach and supported the Democratic Party and Woodrow Wilson, led by Carrie Chapman Catt, and formed the more militant National Woman's Party. HP Mini 110-3504tu laptop keyboard

Suffragists were arrested during their "Silent Sentinels" pickets at the White House, the first time such a tactic was used, and were taken as political prisoners.^[112]

The old anti-suffragist argument that only men could fight a war, and therefore only men deserve the right to vote, was refuted by the enthusiastic participation of tens of thousands of American women on the home front in World War I. HP Pavilion dv6-2159tx laptop keyboard

Across the world, grateful nations gave women the right to vote. Furthermore, most of the Western states had already given the women the right to vote in state and national elections, and the representatives from those states, including the first woman Jeannette Rankin of Montana, demonstrated that woman suffrage was a success. DELL 0M711P laptop keyboard

 The main resistance came from the south, where white leaders were worried about the threat of black women voting. Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment in 1919, and women could vote in 1920.^[113]

NAWSA became the League of Women Voters, and the National Woman's Party began lobbying for full equality and the Equal Rights Amendment, HP Pavilion dv6-2160ep laptop keyboard

which would pass Congress during the second wave of the women's movement in 1972. Politicians responded to the new electorate by emphasizing issues of special interest to women, especially prohibition, child health, and world peace.^[114][115] The main surge of women voting came in 1928, HP COMPAQ NX6310 Laptop Keyboard

when the big-city machines realized they needed the support of women to elect Al Smith, a Catholic from New York City. Meanwhile Protestants mobilized women to support Prohibition and vote for Republican Herbert Hoover.

In the 1920s the U.S. grew steadily in stature as an economic and military world power.  DELL INSPIRON 1464 Laptop Keyboard

The United States Senate did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles imposed by its Allies on the defeated Central Powers; instead, the United States chose to pursue unilateralism.^[117] The aftershock of Russia's October Revolution resulted in real fears of communism in the United States, leading to a Red Scare and the deportation of aliens considered subversive. GATEWAY M-6319 Laptop Keyboard

While public health facilities grew rapidly in the Progressive Era, and hospitals and medical schools were modernized,^[118]the nation in 1918 lost 675,000 lives to the Spanish flu pandemic.^[119]

In 1920, the manufacture, sale, import and export of alcohol were prohibited by the Eighteenth Amendment, Prohibition. HP 634139-001 Laptop Keyboard

The result was that in cities illegal alcohol became a big business, largely controlled by racketeers. The second KKK grew rapidly in 1922-25, then collapsed. Immigration laws were passed to strictly limit the number of new entries. The 1920s were called the Roaring Twenties due to the great economic prosperity during this period. TOSHIBA Satellite L655-S5083 Laptop Keyboard

Jazz became popular among the younger generation, and thus the decade was also called the Jazz Age.

The Great depression (1929–39) and the New Deal (1933–36) were decisive moments in American political, economic, and social history that reshaped the nation.^[120]  ACER Aspire 5742 Laptop Keyboard

During the 1920s, the nation enjoyed widespread prosperity, albeit with a weakness in agriculture. A financial bubble was fueled by an inflated stock market, which later led to the Stock Market Crash on October 29, 1929.^[121] This, along with many other economic factors, triggered a worldwide depression known as the Great Depression. HP pavilion DV7-1000 Laptop Keyboard

During this time, the United States experienced deflationas prices fell, unemployment soared from 3% in 1929 to 25% in 1933, farm prices fell by half, and manufacturing output plunged by one-third.

In 1932, Democratic presidential nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt promised "a New Deal for the American people, TOSHIBA Satellite A300 Laptop Keyboard

" coining the enduring label for his domestic policies. The desperate economic situation, along with the substantial Democratic victories in the 1932 elections, gave Roosevelt unusual influence over Congress in the "First Hundred Days" of his administration. TOSHIBA Satellite A110 Series Laptop Keyboard

He used his leverage to win rapid passage of a series of measures to create welfare programs and regulate the banking system, stock market, industry, and agriculture, along with many other government efforts to end the Great Depression and reform the American economy. The New Deal regulated much of the economy, especially the financial sector. Lenovo IdeaPad Y710 Laptop Keyboard

It provided relief to the unemployed through numerous programs, such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and (for young men) the Civilian Conservation Corps. Large scale spending projects designed to provide high paying jobs and rebuild the infrastructure were under the purview of the Public Works Administration. DELL Latitude D830 Laptop Keyboard

Roosevelt turned left in 1935–36, building up labor unions through the Wagner Act. Unions became a powerful element of the mergingNew Deal Coalition, which won reelection for Roosevelt in 1936, 1940, and 1944 by mobilizing union members, blue collar workers, relief recipients, HP Mini 110-3504tu laptop keyboard

big city machines, ethnic, and religious groups (especially Catholics and Jews) and the white South, along with blacks in the North (where they could vote). Some of the programs were dropped in the 1940s when the conservatives regained power in Congress through the Conservative Coalition. Lenovo Thinkpad T520 Laptop Keyboard

Of special importance is the Social Security program, begun in 1935.

In the Depression years the United States remained focused on domestic concerns while democracy declined across the world and many countries fell under the control of dictators. Imperial Japan asserted dominance in East Asia and in the Pacific.  Lenovo Thinkpad T520 laptop keyboard

Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy militarized to and threatened conquests, while Britain and France attempted appeasement to avert another war in Europe. US legislation in the Neutrality Acts sought to avoid foreign conflicts; however, policy clashed with increasing anti-Nazi feelings following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 that started World War II. Compaq Presario CQ71-403SA laptop keyboard

Roosevelt positioned the US as the "Arsenal of Democracy," pledging full-scale financial and munitions support for the Allies—-but no soldiers.^[123] Japan tried to neutralize America's power in the Pacific by attacking Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which catalyzed American support to enter the war and seek revenge.^[124] HP Pavilion dv6-2150us laptop keyboard

HP Pavilion dv6-2030ev laptop keyboard

The main contributions of the US to the Allied war effort comprised money, industrial output, food, petroleum, technological innovation, and (especially 1944–45), soldiers. Much of the focus in Washington was maximizing the economic output of the nation. The overall result was a dramatic increase in GDP, TOSHIBA Satellite L655-S5083 laptop keyboard

the export of vast quantities of supplies to the Allies and to American forces overseas, the end of unemployment, and a rise in civilian consumption even as 40% of the GDP went to the war effort. This was achieved by tens of millions of workers moving from low-productivity occupations to high efficiency jobs, TOSHIBA Satellite L655-S5160 laptop keyboard

 improvements in productivity through better technology and management, and the move into the active labor force of students, retired people, housewives, and the unemployed, and an increase in hours worked. It was exhausting; leisure activities declined sharply. HP Pavilion dv6-3050tx laptop keyboard

People tolerated the extra work because of patriotism, the pay, and the confidence that it was only "for the duration," and life would return to normal as soon as the war was won. Most durable goods became unavailable, and meat, clothing, and gasoline were tightly rationed. In industrial areas housing was in short supply as people doubled up and lived in cramped quarters. HP Pavilion DV6-1160ed laptop keyboard

 Prices and wages were controlled, and Americans saved a high portion of their incomes, which led to renewed growth after the war instead of a return to depression.

The Allies—-the US, Britain, and the Soviet Union, as well as China, Canada and other countries—-fought the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan. TOSHIBA Satellite L505-S5993 laptop keyboard

The Allies saw Germany as the main threat and gave highest priority to Europe. The US dominated the war against Japan and stopped Japanese expansion in the Pacific in 1942. After losing Pearl Harbor and in the Philippines to the Japanese, and drawing the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942), the American Navy inflicted a decisive blow at Midway(June 1942). TOSHIBA Satellite L200 laptop keyboard

American ground forces assisted in the North African Campaign that eventually concluded with the collapse of Mussolini's fascist government in 1943, as Italy switched to the Allied side. A more significant European front was opened onD-Day, June 6, 1944, in which American and Allied forces invaded Nazi-occupied France from Britain. HP 640436-001 Laptop Keyboard

On the home front, mobilization of the US economy was managed by Roosevelt's War Production Board. The wartime production boom led to full employment, wiping out this vestige of the Great Depression. Indeed, labor shortages encouraged industry to look for new sources of workers, finding new roles for women and blacks.^[127] HP pavilion DV7-1000 Laptop Keyboard

However, the fervor also inspired anti-Japanese sentiment, which was handled by removing everyone of Japanese descent from the West Coast war zone.^[128] Research and developmenttook flight as well, best seen in the Manhattan Project, a secret effort to harness nuclear fission to produce highly destructive atomic bombs.^[129]  HP Mini 1010LA Laptop Keyboard

The Allied pushed the Germans out of France but faced an unexpected counterattack at the Battle of the Bulge in December. The final German effort failed, and, as Allied armies in East and West were converging on Berlin, the Nazis hurriedly tried to kill the last remaining Jews. HP Pavilion dv5-1211tx Laptop Keyboard

The western front stopped short, leaving Berlin to the Soviets as the Nazi regime formally capitulated in May 1945, ending the war in Europe.^[130] Over in the Pacific, the US implemented an island hopping strategytoward Tokyo, establishing airfields for bombing runs against mainland Japan from the Mariana Islands and achieving hard-fought victories at Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 1945.^[131] COMPAQ Presario CQ60-104TU Laptop Keyboard

Bloodied at Okinawa, the U.S. prepared to invade Japan's home islands when B-29s dropped two atomic bombs on Japanese cities, forcing the empire's surrender in a matter of days and thus ending World War II.^[132] The US occupied Japan (and part of Germany), sendingDouglas MacArthur to restructure the Japanese economy and political system along American lines.^[133] HP G42-245BR laptop keyboard

Though the nation lost more than 400,000 soldiers,^[134] the mainland prospered untouched by the devastation of war that inflicted a heavy toll on Europe and Asia.

Participation in postwar foreign affairs marked the end of predominant American isolationism. The awesome threat of nuclear weapons inspired both optimism andfear. DELL Vostro 1014 Laptop Keyboard

 Nuclear weapons were never used after 1945, as both sides drew back from the brink and a "long peace" characterized the Cold War years, 1947–1991. There were, however, regional wars in Korea and Vietnam.

Following World War II, the United States emerged as one of the two dominant superpowers, the USSR being the other. HP Pavilion DV9243EA Laptop Keyboard

The U.S. Senate on a bipartisan vote approved U.S. participation in the United Nations (UN), which marked a turn away from the traditional isolationism of the U.S. and toward increased international involvement.

The primary American goal of 1945–48 was to rescue Europe from the devastation of World War II and to contain the expansion of Communism, represented by the Soviet Union. HP 605344-001 Laptop Keyboard

The Truman Doctrine of 1947 provided military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey to counteract the threat of Communist expansion in the Balkans. In 1948, the United States replaced piecemeal financial aid programs with a comprehensive Marshall Plan, which pumped money into the economy of Western Europe, TOSHIBA Satellite P300 Laptop Keyboard

and removed trade barriers, while modernizing the managerial practices of businesses and governments.^[136]

The Plan's $13 billion budget was in the context of a US GDP of $258 billion in 1948 and was in addition to the $12 billion in American aid given to Europe between the end of the war and the start of the Marshall Plan. DELL Inspiron 6400 Laptop Keyboard

Soviet head of state Joseph Stalin prevented his satellite states from participating, and from that point on, Eastern Europe, with inefficient centralized economies, fell further and further behind Western Europe in terms of economic development and prosperity. In 1949, the United States, Lenovo Thinkpad T520 Laptop Keyboard

rejecting the long-standing policy of no military alliances in peacetime, formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance, which continues into the 21st century. In response the Soviets formed the Warsaw Pact of communist states.^[136]  HP Pavilion DV7-3186cl Laptop Keyboard

In August 1949 the Soviets tested their first nuclear weapon, thereby escalating the risk of warfare. Indeed, the threat ofmutually assured destruction prevented both powers from going too far, and resulted in proxy wars, especially in Korea andVietnam, in which the two sides did not directly confront each other.^[135] IBM Thinkpad T60 Laptop Keyboard

 Within the United States, the Cold War prompted concerns about Communist influence. The unexpected leapfrogging of American technology by the Soviets in 1957 with Sputnik, the first Earth satellite, began theSpace Race, won by the Americans as Apollo 11 landed astronauts on the moon in 1969. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 Laptop Keyboard

The angst about the weaknesses of American education led to large-scale federal support for science education and research.^[137]

In the decades after World War II, the United States became a global influence in economic, political, military, cultural, and technological affairs. HP G42T-200 CTO Laptop Keyboard

 Beginning in the 1950s, middle-class culture became obsessed with consumer goods. White Americans made up nearly 90% of the population in 1950.

In 1960, the charismatic politician John F. Kennedy was elected as the first and—thus far—only Roman Catholic President of the United States. HP AEAT8TPU017 Laptop Keyboard

The Kennedy family brought a new life and vigor to the atmosphere of the White House. His time in office was marked by such notable events as the acceleration of the United States' role in the Space Race, escalation of the American role in the Vietnam War, the Cuban missile crisis, the Bay of Pigs Invasion,  HP pavilion DV7-1000 Laptop Keyboard

the jailing of Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Birmingham campaign, and the appointment of his brother Robert F. Kennedy to his Cabinet as Attorney General. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, leaving the nation in profound shock. IBM Lenovo Thinkpad X200 laptop keyboard

The climax of liberalism came in the mid-1960s with the success of President Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–69) in securing congressional passage of his Great Societyprograms.^[140] They included civil rights, the end of segregation, Medicare, extension of welfare, federal aid to education at all levels, DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard

subsidies for the arts and humanities, environmental activism, and a series of programs designed to wipe out poverty.^[141][142] As recent historians have explained:

Gradually, liberal intellectuals crafted a new vision for achieving economic and social justice. The liberalism of the early 1960s contained no hint of radicalism, HP G72-227WM laptop keyboard

little disposition to revive new deal era crusades against concentrated economic power, and no intention to fast and class passions or redistribute wealth or restructure existing institutions. Internationally it was strongly anti-Communist. It aimed to defend the free world, to encourage economic growth at home, and to ensure that the resulting plenty was fairly distributed. HP Pavilion dv6-2155dx laptop keyboard

Their agenda-much influenced by Keynesian economic theory-envisioned massive public expenditure that would speed economic growth, thus providing the public resources to fund larger welfare, housing, health, and educational programs.

Johnson was rewarded with an electoral landslide in 1964 against conservative Barry Goldwater,  HP Pavilion dv6-3015tx laptop keyboard

which broke the decades-long control of Congress by the Conservative coalition. However, the Republicans bounced back in 1966 and elected Richard Nixon in 1968. Nixon largely continued the New Deal and Great Society programs he inherited; conservative reaction would come with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.^[144] HP 590527-001 laptop keyboard

 Meanwhile, the American people completed a great migration from farms into the cities and experienced a period of sustained economic expansion. HP G71-343US Laptop Keyboard,HP Pavilion G7-1150US Laptop Keyboard,HP Pavilion DV7-3065dx Laptop Keyboard, HP G62-a20SQ laptop keyboard