DCUSH FINAL

Interstate Commerce Act

Law that created the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroads and make railroad rates more reasonable and just.

John D. Rockefeller

Founder of Standard Oil; controlled about 90% of U.S. oil refining through trusts and horizontal integration.

Andrew Carnegie

Steel industrialist who used vertical integration by controlling raw materials, transportation, factories, and sales.

Social Darwinism

Belief that survival of the fittest applied to society; used to justify wealth and oppose government interference.

Herbert Spencer

Thinker who introduced Social Darwinism and applied survival of the fittest to human society.

Dawes Severalty Act

1887 law dividing Native American lands into individual farms; reduced Native land from 138 million acres to 47 million.

Booker T. Washington

Black leader who encouraged hard work, education, economic independence, and gradual progress.

Pendleton Act

Civil service reform law that limited campaign contributions from federal employees and created rules for government jobs.

Homestead Act

1862 law giving settlers 160 acres of land, though the land was often not enough to make a profit.

Subways

New urban transportation system that helped people move through growing cities.

Urbanization

Growth of cities, causing problems like overcrowding, sanitation issues, and poor housing.

Tenements

Crowded, poor, unsanitary apartment buildings where many urban immigrants and poor families lived.

Ellis Island

Immigration processing center connected to the arrival of many immigrants into the United States.

“New Immigrants”

Immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, including Italians, Polish immigrants, and Russian Jews.

Political Machine

City political organization led by a boss that exchanged jobs, aid, and legal help for votes.

Tammany Hall

New York City political machine led by Boss Tweed.

Boss Tweed

Corrupt New York political boss who led Tammany Hall.

Thomas Nast

Political cartoonist who exposed Boss Tweed’s corruption through cartoons.

Battle of Wounded Knee

U.S. Army attack on Native Americans after fears over the Ghost Dance; many Native Americans were killed.

Chinese Exclusion Act 1882

Law banning Chinese immigration to the U.S. for 10 years; later extended.

Plessy V. Ferguson

Supreme Court case that upheld segregation under “separate but equal.”

Francis Willard

Leader connected to the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.

Woman’s Christian Temperance Union

Reform group focused on prohibition and helping women harmed by alcohol abuse in families.

Sherman Antitrust Act

Law aimed at trusts and monopolies, though early enforcement was limited.

Spanish-American War

War between the U.S. and Spain; the U.S. gained the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Theodore Roosevelt

President known for trustbusting, the Square Deal, big-stick diplomacy, and Progressive reforms.

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized newspaper reporting that helped stir anger against Spain.

U.S.S. Maine

U.S. ship that exploded in Havana, increasing pressure for war with Spain.

Open Door Policy

Policy by Secretary of State John Hay to keep China open to American trade.

Trustbuster

Nickname for Roosevelt because he tried to limit the power of big business trusts.

Square Deal

Roosevelt’s idea of fairness between workers, businesses, and the public.

W.E.B. Du Bois

Black leader who wanted active resistance to inequality and helped inspire the NAACP.

NAACP

Civil rights organization connected to Du Bois’s push for active change.

Roosevelt Corollary

Addition to the Monroe Doctrine saying the U.S. could intervene in Latin America during chronic wrongdoing.

Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick

Roosevelt’s foreign policy: use diplomacy but maintain strong military power.

Panama Canal

Canal built with U.S. support after Panama gained independence from Colombia; helped trade and naval movement.

Progressivism

Reform movement trying to fix problems from industrialization, corruption, unsafe work, and urban poverty.

Muckrakers

Journalists who exposed corruption and social problems.

The Jungle

Upton Sinclair’s book exposing unsanitary conditions in meatpacking.

Upton Sinclair

Muckraker who wrote The Jungle.

Pure Food and Drugs Act

Law that increased federal supervision over food and drugs after public concern over unsafe products.

Great White Fleet

U.S. naval fleet sent around the world to show American naval power.

Prohibition

Movement to ban alcohol; later became the 18th Amendment.

Henry Ford

Automobile maker who used the assembly line to produce cheaper cars.

Dollar Diplomacy

Taft’s policy of using financial influence instead of military force in Latin America and Asia.

Mexican Revolution

Conflict in Mexico; Pancho Villa raided American towns, leading Pershing to pursue him.

Franz Ferdinand

Austrian Archduke assassinated by Gavrilo Princip; his death helped spark WWI.

Allies

In WWI, France, Great Britain, Russia, and later others who fought against the Central Powers.

18th Amendment

Prohibited the production and sale of alcohol.

19th Amendment

Gave women the right to vote.

Neutrality

U.S. policy of trying to avoid joining WWI at first.

Submarines

German U-boats used to attack ships during WWI.

Lusitania

Passenger ship sunk by Germany, increasing U.S. anger before WWI.

Pancho Villa

Mexican revolutionary who raided American towns; Pershing was sent after him.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

German policy of attacking ships without warning, helping bring the U.S. into WWI.

Zimmerman Telegraph

German message encouraging Mexico to ally with Germany against the U.S.

Bolshevik Revolution

Russian Revolution that brought communists to power and removed Russia from WWI.

John J. Pershing

U.S. general who led American forces in WWI and pursued Pancho Villa.

Henry Cabot Lodge

Senator who opposed Wilson’s League of Nations plan and was important in rejecting the treaty.

Warren G. Harding

President elected in 1920 who promised a return to “normalcy.”

Selective Service Act

Draft law requiring men to register for military service.

The Birth of a Nation

Film/book that glorified the KKK and increased racial tension.

The Great Migration

Movement of African Americans from the South to Northern labor markets.

Treaty of Versailles

WWI peace treaty; Germany accepted war guilt, reparations, land loss, and military limits.

League of Nations

International peacekeeping organization proposed by Wilson; the U.S. did not join.

Sacco and Vanzetti

Italian immigrant anarchists convicted of murder/robbery despite weak evidence and concerns about unfairness.

Bootleggers

People who illegally made or sold alcohol during Prohibition.

Al Capone

Chicago gangster who controlled gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging.

Radio

Major communication and entertainment technology of the 1920s and 1930s.

Red Scare

Fear of communism, especially after the Bolshevik Revolution.

Teapot Dome Scandal

Harding-era scandal involving federal oil reserves leased for bribes/loans.

Harlem Renaissance

African American cultural movement in New York City involving music, writing, poetry, and jazz.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Writer who represented the spirit of the 1920s and wrote The Great Gatsby.

Scopes Trial

Trial of John Scopes for teaching evolution in Tennessee; showed conflict between modernism and fundamentalism.

Herbert Hoover

President during the start of the Great Depression; believed in rugged individualism.

Stock Market Crash of 1929

Collapse of stock values that helped trigger the Great Depression.

Black Thursday

October 24, 1929, when the stock market collapsed and panic selling began.

Hoovervilles

Shantytowns of homeless and unemployed people during the Great Depression.

Bonus Army

WWI veterans who marched on Washington demanding early bonus payments.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

President elected in 1932 who created the New Deal.

Good Neighbor Policy

U.S. policy toward Latin America promising less intervention.

20th Amendment

Changed presidential inauguration date to January 20.

Margin Trading

Buying stock on credit by paying only a small percentage of the price.

Insider Trading

Stock manipulation based on hidden information and lack of regulation.

Smoot-Hawley Tariff

Hoover tariff that raised import taxes and worsened the Depression.

Bank Failures

Collapse of banks during the Depression, causing people to lose savings.

Banking Crisis

Panic caused by failing banks, no deposit insurance, and fear of losing money.

Radio

Used by FDR for Fireside Chats and became central to news, sports, and entertainment.

Fireside Chats

FDR’s radio talks used to calm the public and explain policies.

New Deal

FDR’s programs focused on relief, recovery, and reform.

Civilian Conservation Corps

New Deal program giving young men jobs in conservation projects.

Tennessee Valley Authority

New Deal agency bringing jobs, electricity, flood control, and development to poor areas.

Agricultural Adjustment Act

New Deal farm program paying farmers to reduce production to raise prices.

Dust Bowl

Severe drought and dust storms in the Great Plains, causing migration and farm destruction.

Fair Labor Standards Act

Law that ended child labor and established minimum wage and maximum hours.

Security Exchange Commission

Agency regulating stock and bond markets.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Agency insuring bank deposits.

21st Amendment

Ended Prohibition.

Second New Deal

Later New Deal phase focused more on jobs, labor, and social welfare.

Works Progress Administration

New Deal jobs program that built schools, playgrounds, facilities, and public works.