Social Science Section 1

Social Science cards for 2026 Academic Decathlon

“He Kept Us Out of the War”

A campaign slogan used by President Woodrow Wilson during the 1916 presidential election, emphasizing his efforts to maintain U.S. neutrality in World War I.

The League of Nations

During the 1919 Peace Conference, what did Wilson succeed in incorporating within the treaty of Versailles?

A severe stroke that incapacitated him.

In the fall of 1919, what did Wilson suffer during a cross-country tour to promote the League of Nations?

A wave of repression and violence, leading to greater tensions between labor and government.

What were the workers strikes met with in various industries in 1919?

Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer

Who led crackdowns on suspected Radicals during the 1919-1920 “Red Scare?”

Schenck v. U.S & Abrams v. U.S

Landmark Supreme Court cases that addressed the limits of free speech during wartime, establishing the "clear and present danger" standard.

The Great Migration

Between 1915-1920, over 1 million African Americans left from the South to northern cities, such as New York.

18th Amendment

Infamous amendment that banned Alcohol, taking effect in Jan. 17th, 1920.

19th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that granted women the right to vote in the United States, ratified on August 18, 1920.

“Return to Normalcy”

Slogan by Warren G. Harding to campaign for the election of 1920

Washington Naval Conference

Conference to disarm and limits naval armaments across many powers.

Teapot Dome

Scandal in 1921 within the Harding Administration regarding bribery.

Calvin Coolidge

VP for Harding and acted as POTUS after Harding’s death. Pro-business and pro-limited gov’t, overseeing the Roaring 20s and won the 1924 election.

Farmers and agriculture sector

Suffered economically as other industries were booming

Dawes Plan

Plan to stabilize the global economy and help with German debt through complex loans and reparations relying on American credit.

Woodrow Wilson

President during the First World War, and was an architect of the League of Nations and 14 Points.

Fourteen Points

Peace plan by Wilson that endorsed, self-determination of smaller nations, free seas and trade, and ending secret diplomacy and shadow alliances.

Henry Cabot Lodge

Massachusetts Senator who frequently clashed with Woodrow Wilson

Reservationists

Group of senators consisting of Henry Lodge and 39 others to vote against the the of Nations if no significant reservations or amendments were passed

Mayflower

Private railcar taking Woodrow Wilson for his cross-country tour for a 3-week period

9981 mi

On Sep. 3rd, 1919, how long was Woodrow Wilson’s tour of the nation?

Woodrow Wilson (USA), David Lloyd George (UK), Georges Clemenceau (France), Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (Italy)

Who were the leaders of the US, UK, France, and Italy during the Versailles Conference?

4 million workers from over 100 labor unions for 5 days.

How long did the general strike in 1919 last, and how many workers chose to strike?

The International Workers of the World, who united with the American Federation of Labor in the Seattle strikes.

Who were the Wobblies?

In 1900, 500k were members of the AFL, by 1919, 4.169 million. This is compared to the IIW’s peak of 60k.

How many workers did the American Federation of Labor have membership to? How many did the IWW have?

Red Scare

Led by Mitchell Palmer, this was a full scale crackdown on worker’s unions following the bolshevik revolt in Russia on 1917.

Sedition Act

What bill had the Espionage Act been amended to in 1918 by Wilson and Congress? This bill restricted speech and protests to the government and war effort.

Homemade Bomb

On April 28th, what did Seattle mayor Ole Hanson receive in the mail? Senator Thomas Hardwick of Georgia got the same explosive gift, maiming his maid and wife, and 34 of this thing in NYC were intercepted.

$500k

How much did Congress give Palmer to suppress domestic terrorism?

General Intelligence Division (GID)

What did Palmer found within the Justice Department’s Bureau of Investigation (BOI)?

200k suspected individuals and organizations

How many files did Hoover log in his work in the GID, the agency before the FBI?

Palmer Raids

Various raids and crackdowns on unions, including the Union of Russian Workers.

Reds

Palmer’s catchall terms to those who opposed the crackdowns on left-wing movements

Schenck v. U.S

Supreme Court case allowing the U.S to suppress liberties during wartime

Debs v. U.S

Court case revolving around anti-war speech during wartime.

Abrams v. U.S

Supreme Court case where Holmes actually sided with Abrams, considering his pamphlet to be insignificant and considers that Abrams wasn’t expressing Bolshevik sentiments that posed immediate danger to the U.S

Sacco and Vanzetti

2 Italian immigrants who were anarchists falsely charged with the death penalty for the murder of a security guard, and became a point in the reach and xenophobia of the Red Scare

Jim Crow

Set of laws discriminating against black people in the South after the Civil War. Leads to the Great Migration

Great Migration

When 1 million African Americans left the South for the North, which didn’t have Jim Crow, between 1915 to 1920.

Sharecroppers

Basically pseudo-slavery where freedmen got paid in a small amount of crops on a plantation which they worked at. They struggled adjusting to the urban life of the North during the Great Migration

Black Bottom, Bronzeville, Black Mecca (Harlem).

Nicknames for different neighborhoods and one such nickname for a borough in NYC.

Harlem Renaissance

Movement in the rise of African literature, music, art, and overall, a boom in African American culture in the 1920s.

Jazz

Music genre arisen from New Orleans to NYC and the Mississippi River in the Harlem Renaissance with musicians such as Jolly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, and King Oliver.

The Chicago Defender

Largest African American newpaper with a speak of 500k subscribers, and covered racial discrimination and violence

Creole Jazz Band

Band contained famed Louis Armstrong and King Oliver with hit records such as Dipper Mouth Blues

Charleston

Dance of 400 steps in awkward posture. Extremely popular dance in Harlem with the Lindy-Hop

Cotton Club and Roseland Ballroom

Two locations where Duke Ellington and Paul Whitman defined the Jazz Era

Harlem Hellfighters

Name for the 369th Infantry Division, one of the first all-black military units for World War I. Infantry Band led by James Reeses to spread Jazz to Europe

Josephine Baker

Girl in flapper attire who was famous in France after making a debut in Broadway musical “Shuffle Along”