WW1 & 1920's vocab

Militarism

Militarism

glorification of the military 

Western Front

battle front between the allies & central powers in western europe during ww1

U-boats

German submarine

Lusitania

British passenger liner sunk by a german U-boats during ww1

Zimmerman Note

telegram written by german foreign minister zimmerman proposing an alliance between germany & mexico against the U.S during ww1

Selective Service Act

act passed by congress in 1917 authorizing a draft of men for military service 

Committee on Public Information

federal government agency created during ww1 to encourage americans to support the war

George Creel

was a journalist who served as chairman of  the committee of public information during ww1. He went on to hold other positions in the federal government. Creel was also an author. One of his books was how we advertised America

Conscientious objector

person whose moral or religious beliefs forbid him or her to fight in wars 

Espionage & Sedition Acts

ought to stifle any criticism of the government or the war and allowed the Postmaster General to intercept mail containing such criticisms

Great Migration

movement of african americans in the twentieth century from the south to the north

John Pershing

commanded the American expeditionary forces in Europe during ww1. Earlier, he had served in the philippines and in mexico. After ww1, he served as chief of staff of the U.S army

Fourteen Points

list of terms for resolving ww1 & future wars outlined by american president woodrow wilson 

Self-determination

the right of people to choose their own form of government 

League of Nations

world organization established after ww1 to promote peaceful cooperation among countries 

Henry Cabot Lodge

was a leading republican senator who led the successful fight to keep the U.S from joining the league of nations after ww1. Before becoming a senator he had served in the house. Earlier he worked as a magazine editor &  historian 

Reparations

payment for war damages 

Irreconcilable’s

isolationist senators who oppose any treaty ending ww1 that had a league of nations folded into it

reservationist’s

group of U.S senators who were prepared to vote for the treaty of versailles as long as some changes were made to it

American Expeditionary Forces

American forces in europe during ww1

Henry Ford

was the founder of ford motor company. Ford revolutionized the automobile industry with his assembly line & treatment of workers. Ford’s model T ushered in the age of the automobile in the U.S

Bull market

period of rising stock prices 

Consumer revolution

flood of new, affordable goods in the decades after ww1

Buying on margin

system of buying stocks in which a buyer pays a small percentage of the purchase price while the broker advances the rest

inflation

rising prices 

Creditor nation

country which is owed more money by other countries than it owes other countries 

Andrew Mellon

served as secretary of the Treasury from 1921 to 1932. He played a significant role in reforming the US tax structure by lowering marginal tax rates for individuals and businesses

Herbert Hoover

served as secretary of Commerce and later as the President of the US from 1929 to 1933 during the Great Depression. His administration’s response to the Great Depression was widely criticized for its ineffectiveness

Teapot Dome Scandal

Harding administration scandal in which the Interior Secretary leased government oil reserves to private oilmen for bribes

Calvin Coolidge

President of the US from 1923 to 1929. He acceded to office after the death of Warren Harding and continued many of the pro-business policies of his predecessor

Washington Naval Disarmament Conference

meeting held in 1921 and 1922 where world leaders agreed to limit construction of warships

Kellogg-Briand Pact

1928 agreement in which many nations agreed to outlaw war

Dawes Plan

agreement in which the US loaned money to Germany, allowing Germany to make reparation payments to Britain and France

Warren G. Harding

 served as President of the US from 1921 to 1923. He promoted a “return to normalcy” following US involvement in WWI. Harding died during his first term in office in 1923. 

Modernism

artistic and literary movement sparked by a break with past conventions

Fundamentalism

movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic religious principles

Scopes Trial

1925 trial of a Tennessee school teacher for breaking a law that forbade teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution

Quota system

arrangement that limited the number of immigrants who could enter the US from specific countries

Ku Klux Klan

an organization that promotes hatred and discrimination against specific ethnic, racial, and religious groups

Prohibition

the forbidding by law of the manufacture, transport, and sale of alcohol

18th Amendment

constitutional amendment banning the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcohol in the US

Volstead Act

 law enacted by Congress to enforce the Eighteenth Amendment

Red Scare

1.  fear that communists were working to destroy the American way of life

Palmer Raids

1.  the series of raids in the early 1920s initiated by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, against suspected radicals and communists

“Lost Generation”

1. term for American writers of the 1920s marked by disillusion with WWI and a search for a new sense of meaning

Flapper

1. young woman from the 1920s who defied traditional rules of conduct and dress

Marcus Garvey

1. a charismatic leader who organized a Black nationalist movement in Harlem during the 1920s

Jazz

1.  American musical form developed by African Americans, based on improvisation and blending blues, ragtime, and European-based popular music

Louis Armstrong

1.  a jazz trumpeter and one of the most influential artists in jazz history. He was also a bandleader, singer and comedian during his career

Bessie Smith

1. - a blues vocalist widely known as the “Empress of the Blues.” Smith sang with some of the great jazz musicians of the time, including Louis Armstrong

Harlem Renaissance

1.  period during the 1920s in which African American novelists, poets, and artists celebrated their culture

Langston Hughes

1. an influential poet and writer who thought of his work as a means to communicate the Black experience in the US