US History Semester Exam: Ch. 4-6, 8 - 11

moral diplomacy

Woodrow Wilson's statement that the U.S. would not use force to assert influence in the world, but would instead work to promote human rights

imperialism

domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country or region

Progressivism

movement that responded to the pressures of industrialization and urbanization by promoting reforms

Muckraker

writer who uncovers and exposes misconduct in politics or business

Social gospel

reform movement that emerged in the late 19th century to improve society by applying Christian principles

Settlement house

community center organized at the turn of the twentieth century to provide services to the urban poor

Direct primary

election in which citizens themselves vote to select nominees for upcoming elections

Temperance movement

movement aimed at stopping alcohol abuse and the problems created by it

Suffrage

the right to vote

Americanization

belief that assimilating immigrants into American society would make them more loyal citizens

NAACP

Interracial group founded in 1909 to abolish segregation and discrimination and to achieve political and civil rights for African Americans

Theodore Roosevelt

President from 1901 to 1909

William Howard Taft

President from 1909 to 1913

Progressive Party

Political party established in 1912 as a result of the battle between Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft

Woodrow Wilson

President from 1913 to 1921

Federal Reserve Act

Law that created a system of national banks and a governing body which sets interest rates and supervises commercial banks

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Government agency established to identify monopolistic business activities, false advertising, and dishonest labeling

Social Darwinism

The belief that only the fittest survive in human political and economic struggle.

Yellow press

newspapers that used sensational headlines and exaggerated stories in order to promote readership

jingoism

aggressive nationalism

Big stick diplomacy

way of intimidating countries with threats of military force without actually attacking or harming them

Dollar diplomacy

President Taft's policy of expanding American investments abroad

insurrection

An open revolt against legal authority; a rebellion.

guerilla warfare

nontraditional combat methods

Sphere of influence

An area in which an outside power claims exclusive investment or trading privileges

Open Door Policy

American statement that the government did not want colonies in China, but favored free trade there

Militarism

a glorification of the military: the building up of weapons.

Western Front

trenches that stretched from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border with France, forming the battlefield between the Allies and the Central Powers in Western Europe.

Casualty

killed, wounded, or missing soldier

contraband

weapons and other war supplies

U-boat

a German Submarine

Selective Service Act

law that established a military draft in 1917

conscientious objector

a person whose moral or religious views forbid participation in war.

Nineteenth Amendment

change to the Constitution that guaranteed the right to vote to women

Great Migration

the movement of more than 1.2 million African Americans from the South to northern cities between 1910 and 1920

convoy

group of ships that traveled together for protection against German U-boats.

Vladimir Lenin

radical communist leader who took over Russia in March 1917

self-determination

the right of people to choose their own form of government

League of Nations

world organization to promote peaceful cooperation between countries

reparations

payments for war damages

Influenza

the flu virus, which caused a deadly epidemic in 1918

inflation

rising prices

Red Scare

widespread fear of radicals and communists

Warren G. Harding

president from 1921 until his death in 1923; elected; in 1920 by promising Americans a "return to normalcy"

modernism

growing trend in the 1920s that emphasized science and secular values over traditional religious ideas

fundamentalism

trend in the 1920s that emphasized Protestant teachings and literal interpretation of the Bible

Ku Klux Klan

group that gained strength in the 1920s with its message of racial purity and its actions against immigrant, African Americans, and religious minorities

Eighteenth Amendment

change to the Constitution that forbade the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcohol

bootlegger

someone who smuggled or sold alcohol illegally

speakeasy

a secret, illegal bar or tavern

Twenty-First Amendment

change to the Constitution that repealed prohibition

flapper

young woman who rejected traditional styles and morals in the 1920s

Harlem Renaissance

artistic and literary movement of the 1920s that emphasized the expression of African American culture and the exploration of questions of race in America

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Agreement signed in 1928 in which nations agreed not to pose the threat of war against one another

entrepreneur

A person who starts up and takes on the risk of a business

protective tariff

a tax on imported goods that is intended to shield a nation's businesses from foreign competition

laissez faire

Idea that government should play as small a role as possible in economic affairs.

patent

exclusive rights over an invention

mass production

Process of making large quantities of a product quickly and cheaply

corporation

A business that is owned by many investors

monopoly

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

cartel

a formal organization of producers that agree to coordinate prices and production

trust

a combination of several firms or corporations formed by a legal agreement, especially to reduce competition

sweatshop

a factory or workshop, especially in the clothing industry, where manual workers are employed at very low wages for long hours and under poor conditions.

company town

a community set up and controlled by a business for its workers

collective bargaining

Process by which a union representing a group of workers negotiates with management for a contract

socialism

A system in which society, usually in the form of the government, owns and controls the means of production.

melting pot

the mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples into a single American nation

nativism

A policy of favoring native-born individuals over foreign-born ones

urbanization

the growth of cities

mass transit

public transportation systems that carry large numbers of people

tenement

multistory building divided into crowded apartments

reservation

Federal land set aside for Native Americans

assimilate

to absorb fully into mainstream society

Dawes General Allotment Act

law passed by Congress in 1887 that split up Indian reservation lands among individual families