U.S. History Study Guide: From Early Imperialism to Modern Court Cases

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering major topics from U.S. History, including foreign policy diplomacy, World War I, the 1920s, the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War II battles and conferences, Constitutional Amendments, and landmark Supreme Court cases.

Filipino Insurrection

Conflict in which Filipinos fought against U.S. control seeking independence.

Panama Canal (1904–1914)

A maritime canal providing a shortcut for ships between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Roosevelt Corollary

Policy under which the U.S. claimed the right to intervene in Latin American countries to protect its interests.

Big Stick Diplomacy

Foreign policy associated with Theodore Roosevelt focused on showing military strength.

Dollar Diplomacy

Foreign policy associated with William Taft that used American money and investment to gain influence.

Moral Diplomacy

Foreign policy associated with Woodrow Wilson aimed at encouraging democracy and friendly relationships.

MAIN Causes of WWI

The foundational causes of World War I: Militarism (big armies), Alliances (promises to help), Imperialism (more land and power), and Nationalism (strong national pride).

Allied Powers (WWI)

The coalition consisting of Great Britain, France, and Russia, later joined by the United States.

Central Powers

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

Lusitania (1915)

A British passenger ship sunk by a German submarine, resulting in American deaths.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

German naval tactic of attacking ships, including neutral vessels, without warning.

Zimmermann Telegram

Message in which Germany asked Mexico to fight against the U.S. in exchange for support in regaining lost territory.

Trench Warfare

Style of combat in which soldiers fought from long ditches, leading to frequent stalemates.

John J. Pershing

Commander of American military forces in Europe during World War I.

Harlem Hellfighters

Famous African American Army regiment recognized for their bravery in World War I.

Alvin C. York

Tennessee World War I hero who was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Committee on Public Information

Government organization that used propaganda to build American public support for World War I.

Wilson’s Fourteen Points

President Woodrow Wilson's plan for peace, which proposed creating a League of Nations to help prevent wars.

League of Nations

An international peace organization created to prevent future conflicts, which the United States did not join.

Isolationism

A foreign policy position adopted by America in the 1920s to stay out of foreign problems.

Jazz Age

Era in the 1920s characterized by jazz music, dancing, flappers, and changing social rules.

Harlem Renaissance

1920s movement celebrating African American art, music, and writing.

Consumer Culture

1920s economic trend in which people bought cars, radios, and appliances, frequently using credit (buy now, pay later).

Great Depression

A prolonged economic crisis marked by lost jobs, bank closures, and widespread poverty.

Stock Market Crash (1929)

Economic event in 1929 in which stock prices fell sharply.

New Deal

Series of government programs launched by Franklin D. Roosevelt starting in 1933 to provide relief, recovery, and reform.

CCC

New Deal agency that provided outdoor jobs for young men in parks, forests, and roads.

WPA

New Deal program that provided jobs constructing public buildings, roads, and bridges.

TVA

New Deal agency that built dams, controlled flooding, and produced electricity in the Tennessee Valley.

FDIC

Federal corporation providing insurance that protects eligible bank deposits.

AAA

New Deal program that paid farmers to reduce crop production in order to raise prices.

Social Security

New Deal program providing financial support for retirees, eligible disabled individuals, and survivors.

Court Packing

FDR’s rejected legislative proposal to add additional justices to the Supreme Court.

Totalitarianism

A system of government where a dictator or ruling party exercises control over nearly every part of life.

Four Freedoms

Principles identified by Franklin D. Roosevelt consisting of freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

Neutrality Acts

A series of federal laws enacted to keep the United States out of overseas conflicts.

Cash and Carry

Policy permitting foreign countries to purchase supplies if they paid in cash and arranged their own transport.

Lend-Lease

Program under which the United States supplied nations actively fighting against the Axis powers.

Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941)

Japanese surprise attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii that brought America into World War II.

Midway (June 1942)

Decisive U.S. naval victory against Japan that served as a major turning point in the Pacific Theater.

D-Day (June 6, 1944)

Allied amphibious landing in Normandy, France, conducted to liberate Western Europe.

Iwo Jima (Feb. 1945)

Costly battle in which U.S. Marines captured a Pacific island used as an emergency landing airfield.

Okinawa (April 1945)

Costly Pacific battle fought near Japan that saw heavy kamikaze attacks against Allied ships.

Yalta Conference (Feb. 1945)

Meeting where Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin discussed military strategy and postwar Europe.

Potsdam Conference (July 1945)

Meeting where Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill (later Clement Attlee) discussed postwar settlements.

Manhattan Project

Top-secret U.S. government initiative that developed the atomic bomb.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Aug. 1945)

Japanese cities where the U.S. dropped atomic bombs, precipitating Japan's surrender shortly after.

Cordell Hull

Tennessee Secretary of State who helped lay the groundwork for establishing the United Nations.

16th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that established the federal income tax.

17th Amendment

Constitutional amendment mandating the direct election of U.S. senators by the people.

18th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that enacted the prohibition of alcohol.

19th Amendment

Constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote by stating voting rights cannot be denied based on sex.

21st Amendment

Constitutional amendment that repealed the 18th Amendment, ending Prohibition.

22nd Amendment

Constitutional amendment limiting an individual to being elected president twice.

23rd Amendment

Constitutional amendment granting Washington, D.C., electoral votes in presidential elections.

24th Amendment

Constitutional amendment prohibiting poll taxes in federal elections.

25th Amendment

Constitutional amendment outlining rules for presidential succession and executive inability.

26th Amendment

Constitutional amendment lowering the legal voting age to 18.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court decision that allowed legal racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Supreme Court case upholding legal punishment for speech opposing the military draft during wartime.

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

Supreme Court decision that upheld the wartime exclusion and internment of Japanese Americans, which has since been repudiated.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Landmark Supreme Court ruling declaring that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Supreme Court ruling that recognized a constitutional right to abortion.

Dobbs v. Jackson (2022)

Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, returning the authority to regulate abortion to elected governments.