Final ID Term list Short

13th amendment

Constitutional amendment (1865) abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude

14th amendment

Amendment (1868) granting citizenship and equality protection under the law (basis for civil rights claims through US history)

15th amendment

Amendment (1870) prohibiting voting restrictions by race or color (expanded democracy but was undermined by Jim Crow laws)

KKK

White supremacist group (founded in 1866) using terror to suppress black rights (major obstacle to reconstruction reforms, precursor to systemic racism and violence)

Manifest destiny

(1845) Belief in inevitable US expansion westward. Justified annexation, native removal, and the Mexican American war

Carlisle Indian Industrial School

Federal boarding school (1879) for native children. Assimilation policy “kill the Indian, save the man"

Dawes Act

Law (1877) allotting tribal lands to individuals. Led to massive native land loss and cultural disruption. Land sold to non native settlers

Ghost Dance

(1889) Native religious revival promising restoration of land/buffalo. Feared by US army, precursor to wounded knee. Circular dances that would bring back the dead

Wounded Knee

1890 massacre of 400 Lakota souix by US troops. Marked the violent end of the Indian wars (ended the ghost dance which led to the massacre)

Plessy V. Ferguson

Supreme Court case (1896) upholding segregation. Established separate but equal precedent

Ida B. Wells

Journalist/activist (1862-1931), led anti-lynching crusade, co-founder of NAACP (national association for the advancement of colored people)

Booker T. Washington

Educator advocating vocational training. Promoted economic advancement over political agitation

WEB Du Bois

Scholar, writer, activist. NAACP co-founder. Advocated political rights and higher education. His influential work, including the seminal text The Souls of Black Folk, challenged racial injustice and advocated for the economic, political, and cultural advancement of Black people through education and persistent activism. He also championed the concept of the "talented tenth," believed in using data to address social issues, and was a global voice for Pan-Africanism, aiming to unify people of African descent worldwide.

Vertical Integration

Control of all stages of production. Perfected by Carnegie in steel industry

Standard oil

(1870) Rockefeller oil monopoly. Model of corporate consolidation target of antitrust laws. (Industrialized and monopolize the oil industry) lowering prices and fostering efficiency through horizontal integration

Horizontal Integration

Merging with competitors in the same industry. Used by Rockefeller to dominate oil

Tenements 

Merging with competitors in the same industry. Used by Rockefeller to dominate oil

“Liberty of Contract”

(1897) Legal idea protecting private labor agreements. Favored employers, limited reform laws for labor practices

Knights of labor

Labor union (1869) open to all workers. Sought broad reforms declined after Haymarket. Fought for workers rights such as 8 hr workday and equal rights

Women’s Christian Temperance Union

Women’s social reform organization (1874) fought for alcohol prohibition. Advanced women’s activism and sufferage. Overall fought for women’s rights

Populists

(1890s) Grew out of the farmers alliance representing southern and Midwestern farmers who were frustrated with falling crop prices, high railroad rates, and crippling debt. Created Omaha platform

Chinese exclusion act 

(May 6, 1882) The Chinese Exclusion Act was a federal law that banned Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States. It was the first major U.S. immigration law that targeted a specific racial/ethnic group, making Chinese immigration illegal except for a few categories (students, diplomats, merchants). Chinese immigrants already in the U.S. also faced strict rules for reentry.

United States v. Wong Kim Ark

(March 28, 1898) United States v. Wong Kim Ark was a landmark Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that a child born in the United States to Chinese immigrant parents is automatically a U.S. citizen under the 14th Amendment.
This decision confirmed the principle of birthright citizenship (jus soli).

Fordism

(early 1900s) The system of mass production and consumption pioneered by Henry Ford—high wages for workers, efficient production.

Created a model for modern industrial capitalism and influenced global economic organization.

Triangle shirtwaist factory fire

1911 fire that killed 146 garment workers in NYC due to locked exits and unsafe conditions.

Sparked outrage and led to major workplace safety and labor reforms.

Muckrakers 

Progressive-era journalists who exposed corruption, corporate abuses, and social injustices.

Increased public awareness and political pressure for reforms (e.g., food safety, trust-busting).

Materialist reforms 

(20th century 1800s through early 1900s) Policies that sought to protect women and children (e.g., labor laws, mothers’ pensions).

Expanded government’s social role and laid groundwork for welfare programs.

League of nations

International peace organization proposed by Wilson after WWI.

U.S. refused to join; foreshadowed later creation of the United Nations.

Great Migration

Movement of African Americans from the rural South to northern cities (1910s–1930s).

Transformed urban culture and race relations; laid roots for the Harlem Renaissance.

Tulsa massacre

(1921) White mobs destroyed a prosperous Black community (“Black Wall Street”) in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Highlighted racial violence and systemic racism during the 1920s.

19th amendment

Ratified 1920; granted women the right to vote.

Major milestone for gender equality and democracy.

Red Scare of 1919-1920

Wave of fear over communism after the Russian Revolution.

Led to mass arrests, deportations, and limits on civil liberties.

Eugenics

Pseudoscientific movement promoting selective breeding to improve the human race.

Justified sterilization laws and racist immigration policies.

New Deal

Roosevelt’s programs (1933–1939) to combat the Depression through relief, recovery, and reform.

Expanded federal government’s role and reshaped U.S. society.

Civilian Conservation Corps

(1933) New Deal program employing young men in environmental projects.

Provided jobs and improved natural resources.

Home Owner’s Loan Corporation

(1933) Provided refinancing for homeowners facing foreclosure.

Helped stabilize housing markets.

Wagner Act 

(1935) Guaranteed workers’ right to unionize and bargain collectively.

Strengthened organized labor’s power.

Four Freedoms

Roosevelt’s 1941 speech defining freedom of speech, worship, from want, and from fear.

Articulated wartime goals and human-rights ideals.

Japanese American internment camp

Forced relocation of 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII.

Severe civil-rights violation later acknowledged as unjust.

Hiroshima

(1945) Japanese cities destroyed by atomic bombs.

Ended the war but raised ethical debates about nuclear warfare.

Serviceman’s Readjustment Act/GI Bill

1944 law providing education and housing benefits to veterans.

Expanded the middle class and boosted postwar prosperity.

Containment 

(1947) A U.S. foreign policy strategy proposed by diplomat George F. Kennan to prevent the spread of communism beyond its existing border. Containment became the foundation of U.S. Cold War policy, shaping actions like the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, and involvement in wars in Korea and Vietnam.

Marshal Plan

(1948-52) An American program providing over $13 billion in economic aid to help rebuild Western European economies after WWII and prevent the spread of communism. Revived European industry and trade, strengthened alliances with the U.S., and weakened communist movements by improving living conditions in Western Europe.

McCarthyism

(Early 1950s) A period of intense anti-communist suspicion in the U.S., led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, involving accusations of subversion and treason without proper evidence. Created fear and repression, leading to blacklists in government, media, and education. Damaged reputations and civil liberties until McCarthy was discredited in 1954