U.S. History: World Wars, New Deal, and Cold War Key Terms

Yalta Conference

1945 meeting where Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin discussed how to reorganize Europe after WWII.

NSC-68

1950 report recommending a major U.S. military buildup to contain communism.

Fair Deal

Harry Truman's domestic program proposing improvements in healthcare, housing, education, and workers' rights.

Harlem Renaissance

1920s cultural movement celebrating African American art, music, literature, and culture.

Marcus Garvey

Black nationalist leader who promoted Black pride, economic independence, and Pan-Africanism.

Lusitania

British passenger ship sunk by a German submarine in 1915, killing Americans and increasing U.S. anger toward Germany.

Treaty of Versailles

1919 treaty ending WWI that punished Germany with reparations, military restrictions, and territorial losses.

League of Nations

International organization created after WWI to promote peace and prevent future wars.

Pearl Harbor

Japanese surprise attack on Hawaii on December 7, 1941, causing the U.S. to enter WWII.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

White supremacist organization that used violence and intimidation against Black Americans and other groups.

Containment

U.S. Cold War policy developed to prevent communism from spreading.

Stock Market Crash

October 1929 collapse of stock prices that helped trigger the Great Depression.

Scopes Trial

1925 trial of teacher John Scopes for teaching evolution in Tennessee, highlighting conflict between science and religion.

Berlin Airlift

1948-1949 operation in which the U.S. and allies flew supplies into West Berlin during a Soviet blockade.

Huey Long

Louisiana politician who promoted the Share Our Wealth program to redistribute wealth during the Great Depression.

Joseph McCarthy

U.S. senator who made accusations that communists had infiltrated the government, fueling the Red Scare.

Potsdam Conference

1945 meeting of Allied leaders discussing postwar Germany and Japan.

1932 Election

Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression, promising a New Deal.

Harry Truman

33rd U.S. president who authorized atomic bombs against Japan and helped establish Cold War containment policies.

Appeasement

Policy of giving an aggressive country concessions to avoid war, famously used toward Hitler before WWII.

Teapot Dome Scandal

Harding administration scandal involving government oil reserves secretly leased in exchange for bribes.

Alger Hiss

Former U.S. government official accused of spying for the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Korean War

1950-1953 conflict between communist North Korea and South Korea, with U.S. involvement to contain communism.

Consensus

General agreement among people or groups; often used to describe post-WWII American agreement on certain political and economic ideas.

Ideology

A system of political or economic beliefs, such as capitalism or communism.

George Kennan

American diplomat who developed the containment policy to prevent the spread of communism.

Stalin's Goals

Wanted to expand Soviet influence, establish friendly communist governments in Eastern Europe, and create a buffer against future invasions.

Flu Pandemic

The 1918 influenza pandemic that killed millions of people worldwide, including many Americans.

Dawes Plan

1924 plan that reorganized German reparation payments and provided American loans to help Germany recover.

Frances Perkins

First woman to serve as a U.S. cabinet secretary; Secretary of Labor under FDR and advocate for workers and Social Security.

NATO

1949 military alliance formed by the U.S., Canada, and Western European nations for collective defense against Soviet threats.

Cash and Carry

U.S. policy allowing countries at war to buy American goods if they paid cash and transported them themselves.

Bonus March

1932 protest by WWI veterans demanding early payment of their promised bonuses during the Great Depression.

D-Day Invasion

June 6, 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy, France, which began the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control.

Marshall Plan

U.S. program providing economic aid to rebuild Western Europe after WWII and help prevent communism from spreading.

Neutrality Acts

1930s laws intended to keep the U.S. out of foreign wars by restricting arms sales and loans to nations at war.

Washington Conference

1921-1922 international meeting where countries agreed to limit naval arms and discuss peace in the Pacific.

Truman Doctrine

1947 policy promising U.S. assistance to countries threatened by communism, initially Greece and Turkey.

Sputnik

First artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, starting the Space Race.

Wilson's 14 Points

Woodrow Wilson's 1918 plan for peace after WWI, including self-determination and a League of Nations.

Lend-Lease

U.S. program providing weapons and supplies to Allied nations before America's entry into WWII.

Hiroshima/Nagasaki

Japanese cities hit by U.S. atomic bombs in August 1945, leading to Japan's surrender.

Winston Churchill

British prime minister during most of WWII who led Britain against Nazi Germany.

1948 Election

Harry Truman unexpectedly defeated Thomas Dewey and won a full presidential term.

Pearl Harbor

Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, bringing America into WWII.

Lusitania

British passenger ship sunk by Germany in 1915; its sinking increased American support for entering WWI.

Social Security Act

1935 law creating retirement benefits and unemployment insurance, among other protections.

Glass-Steagall Act

1933 law separating commercial and investment banking activities and helping establish federal deposit insurance through the FDIC.

Warren G. Harding

29th U.S. president (1921-1923), associated with the return to normalcy and the Teapot Dome scandal.

Committee to Defend America First

Anti-isolationist organization that supported helping Britain and the Allies resist Nazi Germany.

Prohibition

1920-1933 ban on manufacturing, selling, and transporting alcoholic beverages under the 18th Amendment.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

New Deal program that gave young men jobs in conservation, forestry, and park improvement.

Herbert Hoover

31st U.S. president whose term included the beginning of the Great Depression.

National Origins Act

1924 immigration law that restricted immigration using national-origin quotas, strongly limiting immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe and excluding Asian immigrants.

Dust Bowl

1930s environmental disaster caused by drought and poor farming practices, forcing many families to leave the Great Plains.

Korean War

1950-1953 war in which the U.S. and UN supported South Korea against communist North Korea.

Bolshevik Revolution

1917 Russian Revolution in which Lenin and the Bolsheviks took power and established a communist government.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

New Deal agency that built dams, controlled flooding, produced electricity, and supported economic development in the Tennessee Valley.

Spanish Civil War

1936-1939 conflict between Republicans and Nationalists led by Francisco Franco; it served as a testing ground for WWII-era weapons and tactics.

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

1933 New Deal law that paid farmers to reduce production in an effort to raise crop prices.

Zimmermann Telegram/Note

1917 German message proposing a military alliance with Mexico against the U.S.; its discovery helped push America toward WWI.

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Second New Deal program that created jobs building roads, schools, bridges, and other public projects.

Japanese American Internment

WWII policy that forcibly incarcerated Japanese Americans in camps, largely based on ancestry and wartime fears.