History Terms

Bloody shirts is a term that was common in the U.S. the term was used to refer to the strategy that was employed by the radical republicans to focus the attention of the public on issues related to reconstruction. "Waving the bloody shirt" was common in the presidential elections in the U.S in 1968, 1972 and 1976. The effectiveness of the strategy was realized in the north where the votes of veterans were won (Sandiego, 2010).

Theodore Roosevelt was the 26^th president of the U.S. he had accomplished much prior to his election. He was born on October 27, 1858. He was first married to Alice Hathaway who died in 1886. He later married again to his childhood sweetheart Edith Kermit Carow. In 1895, Roosevelt became the president of the board of New York City Police Commissioners and helped change the corrupt reputation of the police force (The White House, 2010). He later joined the navy, resigned and formed the First U.S Volunteers Cavalry Regiment called 'the Rough Riders.' He was elected the governor of New York after leaving the army. After being made the running mate lf McKinley in the general election of 1900, he became the vice president after McKinley won the election. Roosevelt became the 26^th U.S president after the death of President McKinley (The White House, 2010).

Ku Klux Klan was a white supremacy organization that was established in the 1820s to fight for the increase in the number of whites in government. The organization was to undermine the power of blacks. It was formed at the time when slaves were being freed from  slave trade. Ku Klux Klan played an important role in restoring white rule in North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia (Spartacus, 2010).

Panama Canal is a ship canal that joins the Atlantic ocean and the pacific ocean. The canal was successfully constructed between 1904 and 1914. The canal makes the trip from the east coast to the west coast of the U.S. much shorter than the route taken around the tip of South America prior to 1914. Alfred Thayer Mahan was an influential writer in the 1880s where he wrote several books on history. Before lecturing at the University state academy, he served in the navy. His lecture notes were organized into history books that emphasized the importance of naval power in war (Eclipse, 2010).

The civil rights acts bill of 1866 was passed by the congress over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. According to this bill, every person in the U.S was a U.S citizen regardless of the race of the person, the color of the person or any other condition. Therefore, if all are the U.S citizens, they could do everything that any citizen of the U.S could do including enforcing contracts of any kind. Any person who denied this right was to be convicted in a court of law (American history, 2010).

W.E.B. Du Bois was a freedom fighter who fought for the rights of the black Americans. After a wonderful education and career, he made a landmark research of Philadelphia Negro. Due to his zeal for fair treatment, he helped organize the first pan-African congress in 1905. He also involved himself with socialist thinkers and activists (Hynes, 2010). Emilio Aguinaldo was a Filipino general, politician and a leader who helped Philippine gain independence in 1898. He played an instrumental role in Philippine independence during the Philippine Revolution against Spain.  and the Philippine-American War that resisted American occupation. He eventually pledged his allegiance to the US government after resisting the U.S Occupation of Philippines in the Philippine-American war (Hynes, 2010).

The Homestead Act f 1862 was passed by the U.S congress to give any applicant a freehold title up to 160 acres 65 hectares or a fourth section of the undeveloped land that fell outside the 13 original colonies. There were three steps to the law: filing an application, land improvement and file or deed for the deed of the title. The law involved any one who had never taken up arms against the U.S government (Bismarck, 2001).

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a human rights activist who fought for the rights of married women to own property in the 1840s. in 1854, she addressed the US. Legislature on the rights of married women and drunkenness as a ground for divorce. She urged the federal constitution in order to give some privilege to married women. She has participated in the writing of many articles, books, magazines and bible for women (NNBD, 2010).