APUSH Unit 8 Vocab

USS Maine

A U.S. battleship that exploded in Havana Harbor in 1898, killing over 260 sailors and increasing public support for war with Spain due to sensationalist journalism.

Anti-Imperialist League

An organization formed in 1898 that opposed U.S. imperialism, arguing that ruling foreign territories violated American democratic ideals.

Open Door Policy

A U.S. foreign policy proposed by John Hay in 1899-1900 calling for equal trade access in China and preservation of Chinese territorial integrity.

Insular Cases

A series of Supreme Court cases decided between 1901 and 1904 ruling that full constitutional rights did not automatically apply to people in U.S. territories.

Platt Amendment

A 1901 law that limited Cuba's independence by allowing U.S. intervention and permitting a U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay.

Roosevelt Corollary

A 1904 extension of the Monroe Doctrine stating the U.S. could intervene in Latin American countries to maintain stability and prevent European involvement.

Emilio Aguinaldo

A Filipino nationalist leader who fought Spain in 1896 and later led resistance against U.S. rule during the Philippine-American War (1899-1902).

Muckrakers

Progressive Era journalists active mainly from the 1890s through the 1910s who exposed corruption, unsafe working conditions, and social injustices.

Initiative

A Progressive reform adopted in the early 1900s that allowed voters to propose laws directly through petitions.

Referendum

A Progressive reform from the early 1900s that allowed voters to approve or reject laws passed by legislatures.

Recall

A Progressive Era reform from the early 1900s that allowed voters to remove elected officials from office before their terms ended.

Meat Inspection Act / Pure Food and Drug Act

Laws passed in 1906 requiring federal inspection of meat and banning the sale of unsafe or mislabeled food and drugs.

Dollar Diplomacy

A foreign policy under President Taft from 1909 to 1913 that used U.S. economic investments to gain influence abroad.

Gifford Pinchot

A conservationist who served as head of the U.S. Forest Service from 1905 to 1913 and supported regulated use of natural resources.

John Muir

A preservationist active mainly from the 1890s to the 1910s who advocated protecting wilderness areas and helped create national parks.

New Freedom

Woodrow Wilson's domestic program introduced in 1913 that focused on antitrust laws, banking reform, and limiting big business power.

Federal Reserve Act

A 1913 law that created the Federal Reserve System to regulate banks, control the money supply, and stabilize the economy.

Clayton Anti-Trust Act

A 1914 law that strengthened antitrust regulation by banning unfair business practices and protecting labor unions.

Lusitania

A British passenger ship sunk by a German submarine in 1915, killing civilians including Americans and increasing U.S. support for entering World War I.

Louis D. Brandeis

A Progressive Supreme Court justice, who was the first jewish one, appointed in 1916 who believed government regulation was necessary to protect democracy from big business.

Zimmermann Note

A secret German message sent in 1917 proposing an alliance with Mexico against the U.S., helping push America into World War I.

Fourteen Points

Woodrow Wilson's peace plan announced in 1918 promoting self-determination, open diplomacy, and the creation of a League of Nations.

Committee on Public Information

A government agency created in 1917 that used propaganda to build public support for U.S. involvement in World War I.

Schenck v. United States

A 1919 Supreme Court case that upheld limits on free speech during wartime under the 'clear and present danger' standard.

National War Labor Board

A wartime agency created in 1918 to settle labor disputes and prevent strikes during World War I.

Nineteenth Amendment

A constitutional amendment ratified in 1920 granting women the right to vote nationwide.

League of Nations

An international organization proposed in 1919 to prevent future wars, which the U.S. ultimately refused to join.

Treaty of Versailles

The 1919 peace treaty ending World War I that punished Germany with territorial losses, military restrictions, and war guilt.

Eugene V. Debs

A socialist leader imprisoned in 1918 for opposing World War I, symbolizing limits on civil liberties during wartime.

American Expeditionary Force (AEF)

The U.S. military force sent to Europe from 1917 to 1918, led by General John J. Pershing during World War I.