Honors World History Final Study Guide

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering the major events, figures, and concepts of World War I, the Interwar Period, World War II, and the Cold War as outlined in the Honors World History study guide.

Militarism

The buildup of armies and navies as a primary cause of World War I.

Alliances

Defense agreements between countries that dragged multiple nations into World War I.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The individual whose assassination in $1914$ by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip served as the trigger for World War I.

Central Powers

The World War I alliance consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire.

Allied Powers (WWI)

The World War I alliance consisting of Britain, France, Russia, and later the United States and Italy.

Total War

The mobilization of entire economies, civilians, and industries by governments to support a war effort.

Trench Warfare

The stalemate fighting system utilized on the Western Front during World War I.

Schlieffen Plan

The German military strategy designed to defeat France quickly before Russia could mobilize.

Battle of the Marne ($1914$)

The engagement that successfully stopped the German advance into France early in World War I.

Battle of Verdun ($1916$)

The longest battle of attrition during World War I.

U-boats

German submarines used in unrestricted submarine warfare, which contributed to the U.S. entry into the war.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ($1918$)

The peace treaty that marked Russia's exit from World War I.

Armenian Genocide

The mass deportations and executions of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire.

War Guilt Clause

A provision in the Treaty of Versailles that blamed Germany for starting World War I.

League of Nations

An international organization formed after World War I to maintain peace, though the U.S. never joined.

October Revolution ($1917$)

The revolution in which the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, seized power in Russia.

New Economic Policy (NEP)

Lenin's economic policy that allowed for limited capitalism within the communist government.

Great Purge ($1936$–$1938$)

Stalin’s campaign of political repression involving the secret police and the elimination of opponents.

Five-Year Plans

Stalin's economic policies aimed at rapid industrialization and the development of heavy industry.

Collectivization

The process of creating government-controlled farms in the USSR, which led to resistance and widespread famine.

Amritsar Massacre ($1919$)

The killing of peaceful protesters by British troops in India, sparking increased nationalism.

Civil Disobedience

The nonviolent strategy used by Gandhi to lead the Indian independence movement.

May Fourth Movement ($1919$)

A nationalist protest in China against the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

The leader who modernized Turkey and established it as a secular republic.

Flappers

Women in the $1920\text{s}$ who challenged traditional roles through their dress and behavior.

Great Depression

The global economic crisis triggered by the Stock Market Crash of $1929$, overproduction, and bank failures.

The New Deal

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s program of Relief, Recovery, and Reform to address the Great Depression.

Appeasement

The policy of Britain and France giving in to Hitler's demands, such as at the Munich Agreement, to avoid war.

Battle of Stalingrad

The turning point on the Eastern Front of World War II where the Soviet Union defeated Germany.

D-Day ($1944$)

The Allied invasion of Normandy that began the liberation of France from Nazi control.

Battle of Midway ($1942$)

The turning point in the Pacific Theater of World War II, marking a major U.S. victory over Japan.

Island Hopping

The U.S. military strategy of capturing key islands to advance toward Japan.

Nuremberg Laws

Nazi laws that removed rights and citizenship from Jewish people.

Holocaust

The systematic state-sponsored persecution and murder of approximately $6$ million Jews and other targeted groups by the Nazi regime.

The Big Three

The leaders of the main Allied Powers: Winston Churchill (Britain), Franklin D. Roosevelt (U.S.), and Joseph Stalin (USSR).

Containment

The U.S. policy aimed at stopping the spread of communism during the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine ($1947$)

The U.S. policy of providing aid to countries resisting communist takeovers.

Marshall Plan ($1948$)

The U.S. initiative to provide economic aid to rebuild Western Europe after World War II.

NATO ($1949$)

The Western military alliance formed to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.

Warsaw Pact ($1955$)

The military alliance formed by the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites.

Great Leap Forward

Mao Zedong’s failed attempt at rapid industrialization in China that resulted in a massive famine.

Cultural Revolution

A movement led by Mao Zedong’s Red Guards to attack traditional culture and intellectuals.

Domino Theory

The belief that if one country fell to communism, neighboring countries would also fall.

Cuban Missile Crisis ($1962$)

The point of the Cold War that brought the United States and the Soviet Union closest to nuclear war.

Glasnost

Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of "openness" in the Soviet government.

Perestroika

Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of "restructuring" the Soviet economy and government.