U.S. History: WWI to Cold War Key Events & Concepts

The Great War (WWI)

1914-1918 conflict between Allies (Britain, France, U.S.) and Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary). Caused massive casualties and set stage for WWII.

Nationalism

Pride/loyalty to one's nation or ethnicity. Fueled imperialism and caused WWI tensions.

New Imperialism

19th-20th century European expansion into Africa/Asia. Created global rivalries.

Berlin Conference (1884-85)

European powers divided Africa. Ignited colonial conflicts.

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

Ended WWI; punished Germany harshly. German resentment → rise of Hitler.

Weimar Republic

Germany's post-WWI democratic gov't. Economic instability → Nazi rise.

Reichstag Fire / Enabling Act

1933 events allowing Hitler to seize total power. Democracy ends in Germany.

Beer Hall Putsch (1923)

Failed Nazi coup → Hitler jailed. Gains fame, writes Mein Kampf.

Kristallnacht (1938)

Violent anti-Jewish pogrom. Start of Holocaust violence.

Fascism

Dictatorial nationalism (Mussolini/Hitler). Rejected democracy, promoted war.

Collectivization (USSR)

Stalin's policy merging farms into state control. Millions die in famine.

Antisemitism / Xenophobia

Hatred of Jews / foreigners. Key Nazi ideology; led to genocide.

Vladimir Lenin

Led 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Created world's first communist state.

Otto von Bismarck

Unified Germany in 1871. Militarized Europe, pre-WWI alliances.

Herbert Hoover

President at Depression start; believed in limited gov't aid. Ineffective response led to FDR's win.

Great Depression

1929 crash → bank failures, 25% unemployment. Worst U.S. economic crisis.

FDR (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

President 1933-45; launched New Deal. Expanded gov't power; led WWII effort.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Activist First Lady. Advanced civil & women's rights.

Marcus Garvey

"Back to Africa" & Black pride leader. Inspired Black Power later on.

TVA

Built dams/electricity in rural South. Modernized poor regions.

WPA

Public works & arts jobs. Reduced unemployment.

CCC

Youth jobs in parks/conservation. Combined work & environmentalism.

Social Security Act (1935)

Pensions & unemployment insurance. Foundation of welfare system.

FDIC

Insured bank deposits. Restored faith in banks.

Reconstruction Finance Corp (RFC)

Hoover's loans to banks/businesses. Early gov't intervention.

POUR

Hoover's volunteer relief effort. Showed his reluctance for federal aid.

First New Deal

Relief & recovery programs (CCC, TVA). Immediate help to Americans.

Second New Deal

Reform & long-term programs (SSA, WPA). Permanent gov't safety nets.

Sacco & Vanzetti / Leo Frank

Controversial trials of minorities. Showed fear & prejudice in 1920s.

Harlem Renaissance / Jazz Era

Black cultural & artistic movement. Transformed U.S. culture.

Axis Powers

Germany, Italy, Japan. Aggressors in WWII.

Allied Powers

U.S., Britain, USSR, France, China. Fought Axis; won war.

Winston Churchill

British PM, anti-Nazi leader. Symbol of Allied resistance.

Joseph Stalin

Soviet leader; defeated Hitler, created USSR bloc. Cold War rival.

Blitzkrieg

"Lightning war" strategy. Allowed Germany's early conquests.

Pearl Harbor (1941)

Japan attacked U.S. base. U.S. enters WWII.

Battle of Midway (1942)

U.S. naval victory vs Japan. Turning point in Pacific.

D-Day (1944)

Allied invasion of Normandy. Began liberation of Western Europe.

Holocaust (1933-45)

Systematic genocide of Jews & minorities. 6 million murdered.

Phases of the Holocaust

4 Phases: Discrimination → Ghettos → Camps → Final Solution.

Hiroshima & Nagasaki (1945)

U.S. dropped atomic bombs. Ended war, began nuclear era.

Manhattan Project

Secret U.S. atomic bomb program. Led to nuclear weapons.

Executive Order 9066 / Internment Camps

FDR's order imprisoning Japanese Americans. Major civil rights violation.

Korematsu v. U.S.

Supreme Court upheld internment. Later condemned as injustice.

Rosie the Riveter

Female wartime worker icon. Expanded women's workforce roles.

Yalta Conference

Big Three plan postwar Europe. USSR influence → Cold War tension.

Potsdam Conference

Truman, Stalin, Attlee finalize postwar terms. Japan warned; Germany divided.

Munich Conference (1938)

Britain appeases Hitler (Sudetenland). Failed policy; emboldened Hitler.

Grand Alliance

U.S., U.K., USSR wartime coalition. United to defeat Axis.

Cold War

U.S. vs. USSR ideological conflict. Shaped global politics for 50 years.

Truman Doctrine (1947)

Aid to stop spread of communism. Foundation of U.S. containment policy.

Containment

Strategy to limit communism's spread. Guided U.S. foreign policy.

CIA (1947)

Intelligence agency for foreign ops. Conducted Cold War covert missions.

Iron Curtain

Symbol of division between East & West Europe. Defined Cold War geography.

NATO (1949)

U.S.-led Western defense alliance. Countered Soviet expansion.

Third World

Non-aligned nations during Cold War. Battleground for U.S./USSR influence.

Joseph McCarthy / McCarthyism

Red Scare witch hunts in U.S. Civil rights violations from fear of communism.

HUAC

Investigated suspected communists. Blacklisted many in Hollywood.

Black Nationalism

Movement for Black pride & independence. Influenced later civil rights strategies.

Russian Revolution (1917)

Lenin & Bolsheviks overthrow czar. Start of global communism → Cold War roots.