CP American History - Final Vocabulary Practice

segregation

separation of people by race

civil rights

the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality.

black codes

laws denying most legal rights to newly freed slaves; passed by southern states following the Civil War

disenfranchise

to lose the right to vote

civil disobedience

a nonviolent, public refusal to obey unjust laws.

industry

economic activity that manufactures products in factories

mass production

the efficient production of large numbers of identical goods

assembly line

production method that breaks down a complex job into a series of smaller tasks

union

an association of workers, formed to bargain for better working conditions and higher wages.

monopoly

complete control of a product or business by one person or group

suffrage

the right to vote

imperialism

one country taking over another country through diplomacy or force

colonialism

occupying a territory and its people and exploiting it economically, usually for its land and natural resources

nationalism

extreme pride in one's country

militarism

the belief in a strong military and to use it aggressively to promote national interests

xenophobia

fear and dislike of foreigners

alliance

an agreement of countries to work together

neutrality

policy of supporting neither side in a war

propaganda

information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause

armistice

an agreement to stop fighting

trench warfare

a type of combat in which opposing troops fight from trenches facing each other.

credit

buying a good or service now and paying for it later

debt

owing money

depression

long period of economic decline

speculation

the practice of making high-risk investments with borrowed money in hopes of getting a big return

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929; date of the worst stock-market crash in American history and beginning of the Great Depression.

bankruptcy

a legal process to get out of debt when you can no longer make all your required payments

fascism

a political system headed by a dictator that calls for extreme nationalism and no tolerance of opposition (example: Mussolini, Hitler)

totalitarianism

a political system in which the government has total control over the lives of individual citizens.

appeasement

accepting demands in order to avoid conflict

genocide

systematic killing of a racial or cultural group

internment

temporary imprisonment of members of a specific group during war

isolationism

a policy of avoiding involvement in world affairs

arms race

a competition between nations to have the most powerful weapons

proxy war

a war in which the powers in conflict use other countries as substitutes instead of fighting each other directly

containment

American policy of stopping more expansion of communism around the world

Truman Doctrine

President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism

NATO

an alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other communist countries