US history ll: 1865-present

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery in the United States.

Radical Reconstruction

A period led by Radical Republicans that involved the military control of the South and significant reforms.

Compromise of 1877

An agreement that resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election and ended Reconstruction.

Haymarket Riot

A major labor strike in 1886 that turned violent and raised tensions regarding labor rights.

19th Amendment

Granted women the right to vote in the United States.

New Deal

A series of programs and reforms introduced by Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression.

Containment Policy

A strategy used to prevent the spread of communism during the Cold War.

McCarthyism

A period of intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States during the early Cold War.

Brown v. Board of Education

A landmark Supreme Court case that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for Black and white students to be unconstitutional.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

Persian Gulf War

A conflict in 1991 where coalition forces expelled Iraqi troops from Kuwait.

Harlem Renaissance

A cultural, social, and artistic explosion centered in Harlem, New York, during the 1920s.

Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act

A law enacted in 1883 that established that positions within the federal government should be awarded on the basis of merit.

Freedmen’s Bureau Act

A U.S. Bureau established in 1865 to help former slaves transition to freedom.

D-Day

The Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, during World War II. This operation marked the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control. The Allies successfully established a foothold in Europe, leading to the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany.

Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The dropping of atomic bombs on these two Japanese cities in August 1945, leading to Japan's surrender in World War II.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance established in 1949.

Trust-busting

Government activities aimed at breaking up monopolies and trusts to promote competition.

Initiative, referendum, and recall

Political processes that allow citizens to propose legislation, vote on it, or remove elected officials from office.