American Imperialism, The Progressive Era, and World War II

Vocabulary-style flashcards based on lecture notes covering American Imperialism, the Progressive Era, the World Wars, and the Great Depression.

Imperialism

The expansion of one country's power through economic, political, and social power over another, resulting in the expansion of an empire.

Alaska Purchase ($1867$)

The purchase of Alaska from Russia for $8.7$ million by William Seward, the secretary of state under Lincoln.

William Mckinely

The president of the United States who involved the country in the Spanish-American war, expanding the size and scope of U.S. power and influence.

Social Darwinism

A reasoning and justification for expansion abroad based on a "strong eat the weak" mentality.

Matthew Perry

A US military officer who in $1853$ forced Japan to open its doors to US trade after it had been closed for $220$ years.

Self-determination

The argument that a country should have the power to decide its own destiny for itself.

Josiah Strong

An American priest who wrote "Our Country, its possible future, and its present crisis" to advocate for expansion as a "Christian" duty.

Alfred Thayer Mahan

A U.S. navy captain in the $1890s$ who argued that a nation's power was due to its navy and that controlling foreign markets required naval control.

Yellow Journalism

A style of writing where newspapers competed for readership through sensationalized stories, notably between Pulitzer and Hearst.

Open Door Policy

A policy implemented when countries colonized parts of China to ensure equal trading rights for all colonizing countries such as France, the U.S., and England.

Sphere of influence

A portion of a territory that has been conquered or is controlled by another country.

U.S.S. Maine

A U.S. Navy battleship that was blown up in Havana, Cuba, in $1898$, killing over $200$ Americans and igniting sentiment against Spain.

Platt Amendment

An amendment forced upon Cuba that allowed America to intervene in Cuban affairs and lease land for military purposes, including Guantanamo Bay.

Emilio Aguinaldo

A Filipino anti-imperialist leader who led a struggle against Americans during the Philippine-American War from $1899$ to $1902$.

Bayonet Constitution

An $1888$ document forced upon the King of Hawaii by white plantation owners which limited the monarchy's power and native rights.

Progressive

A person who advocates for social reform or the implementation of new liberal ideas.

Muckrackers

People who exposed problems within society, including figures like Jacob Riis, Upton Sinclair, and Ida Tarbell.

NACCP

The National Association for the Advancement of colored people, which fought for equality and against Jim crows laws.

Referendum

A political process where voters themselves could vote on the adoption of proposed laws.

Initiative

A process where voters could require the legislature to consider a bill they had previously ignored.

$16th$ Amendment

A Progressive amendment that established a progressive Income Tax.

$17th$ Amendment

A Progressive amendment providing for the direct election of senators by the people.

$18th$ Amendment

An amendment banning the manufacturing, sale, and transportation of alcohol.

$19th$ Amendment

A Progressive amendment passed in $1920$ that granted women the right to vote.

The Square Deal

Theodre Roossevelt's plan to preserve natural resources, crack down on corporations, and protect consumers.

Allied powers (Triple Entente)

The coalition during World War 1 consisting of England, France, and Russia.

Central Powers (Triple Alliance)

The coalition during World War 1 consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.

RMS Lusitania

A British passenger ship sunk by German submarines in $1915$, killing $1,200$ people, including $200$ Americans.

Zimmerman Telegram

A message sent from Germany to Mexico in $1917$ asking Mexico to invade the U.S. in exchange for lost territory; it was intercepted by the U.S.

Trench warfare

A form of combat where opposing sides dug into the ground to create trenches, often filled with disease and vermin.

Treaty of Versailles

The treaty that ended World War 1, forcing Germany to disarm, pay reparations, lose territory, and accept sole responsibility for the war.

Fourteen Points

Woodrow Wilson's proposals for the post-war world, including freedom of the seas, self-determination, and the League of Nations.

Xenophobia

Prejudice or racism directed toward immigrants and foreigners.

Selective-Service Act

A law that made the military draft permanent for $18$ year old men.

Espionage Act

A law that made it a crime to be a foreign spy or to oppose and speak out against the war.

The Red Scare

A period of anti-communist sentiment in America inspired by the Russian Revolution.

Palmer Raids

Investigatory raids led by J Edgar Hoover into union leaders and radicals suspected of being communists, resulting in $6,000$ arrests.

The Great Migration

The movement of the Black population from the South to the North to escape racism and seek better opportunities.

Assembly Line

A continuous automation line of work first used by Henry Ford to assemble cars efficiently.

Harlem Renaissance

A cultural rebirth in the Harlem neighborhood of NYC involving the revival of Black arts, jazz, and culture.

Flappers

A symbol of women's liberation in the $1920s$, characterized by women who wore shorter skirts, smoked, and drank.

Scope Monkey Trial

A $1925$ trial where John Scopes was prosecuted for teaching the theory of evolution, representing a conflict between modernists and fundamentalists.

Black Tuesday

October $24$, $1929$, the day the Stock Market officially crashed, marking the beginning of the Great Depression.

Buying On Margin

The practice of investors borrowing money from banks to buy stocks.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff

A $1930$ law that raised import taxes on $20,000$ goods by approximately 20 ext{%}, which worsened the Great Depression.

The New Deal

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's (FDR) plan involving a set of government laws and policies to respond to the Great Depression.

FDIC

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporations, a New Deal agency created to protect investors from fraud.

Lend-Lease Act

An agreement where the U.S. lent guns and weapons to England to fight Natzi Germany during World War 2.

Executive Order $9066$

An order passed by FDR that forced Japanese immigrants and Japanese-Americans to relocate to internment camps.

Korematsu v US ($1944$)

A Supreme Court case that challenged the constitutionality of Japanese relocation; the court ruled it was a wartime necessity.

Double V Campaign

A campaign by Black Americans during World War 2 for victory in the war and victory against racism at home.

D-Day Invasion

The June $6$, $1944$ landing of Allied forces on the beaches of France to liberate Europe from Natzi rule.

Manhattan Project

A secret U.S. government project in the early $1940s$ dedicated to building the world's first nuclear bomb.

Island Hopping Strategy

The U.S. military strategy in the Pacific involving captured strategic islands to cut off Japanese supply lines.

Marshall Plan

A U.S. program that provided money to rebuild Europe after World War 2 in hopes that countries would choose capitalism over communism.

United Nations (UN)

A body of international peacekeepers formed after World War 2 to maintain world peace.