U.S. History Lecture Notes Review

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering major eras and events in U.S. History as detailed in the lecture transcript.

Sectionalism

Strong loyalty to one region of the country rather than the nation as a whole.

States’ Rights

The belief that states have power to reject federal laws.

Nullification Theory

The idea that states could ignore federal laws they believed unconstitutional.

Missouri Compromise

Maintained balance between free and slave states and created the $36^\circ 30'$ slavery line.

Compromise of 1850

A series of laws including California entering as free and a stronger Fugitive Slave Act.

Fugitive Slave Act

Required that citizens had to help capture escaped enslaved people.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Allowed popular sovereignty and repealed the Missouri Compromise line.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent fighting between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that citizens vote to decide on slavery.

Dred Scott Decision

Ruled enslaved people were property, not citizens.

Abraham Lincoln

Led the Union during the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Secession

When Southern states left the Union.

Confederacy

The Southern states that seceded from the Union.

Anaconda Plan

Union strategy to blockade Southern ports and control the Mississippi River.

Emancipation Proclamation

Declared enslaved people in Confederate territory free.

Gettysburg Address

Speech where Lincoln honored soldiers and emphasized equality and preserving the Union.

Ulysses S. Grant

Major Union general who helped defeat the Confederacy.

William Tecumseh Sherman

General known for the "March to the Sea" and total war tactics.

Radical Republicans

Political group that wanted stronger Reconstruction and rights for freedmen.

Andrew Johnson

President who was controversial for being too lenient toward the South during Reconstruction.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Agency that helped formerly enslaved people with education, food, and jobs.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved South during Reconstruction.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery.

14th Amendment

Granted citizenship and equal protection.

15th Amendment

Protected voting rights regardless of race.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws enforcing racial segregation.

Black Codes

Laws limiting African Americans’ freedoms after the Civil War.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Established the "separate but equal" doctrine of segregation.

Sharecropping

Farming system trapping workers in debt.

Debt Peonage

System where workers were forced to work to pay debts.

Ku Klux Klan

Organization that used violence and intimidation against African Americans.

Industrialization

Growth of factories and machine production.

Urbanization

Growth of cities due to industrial jobs.

Monopoly

One company controlling an entire industry.

Laissez-Faire

Economics where the government stays out of business and the economy.

Social Darwinism

Belief that the strongest businesses/people naturally succeed.

Socialism

Government/shared ownership of industries and resources.

Sherman Antitrust Act

Law that tried to break up monopolies.

Assembly Line

Increased production speed through specialized tasks.

Mass Production

Producing large amounts of goods quickly.

Henry Ford

Industrialist who used assembly lines to mass produce cars.

Andrew Carnegie

Industrialist who dominated the steel industry.

John D. Rockefeller

Industrialist who dominated the oil industry.

Ida Tarbell

Muckraker who exposed Standard Oil monopoly practices.

Knights of Labor

Labor union accepting both skilled and unskilled workers.

AFL

Labor union focused specifically on skilled workers.

Haymarket Riot

Event that increased fear of labor unions and radicals.

Pullman Strike

Railroad strike stopped by federal troops.

Nativism

Favoring native-born Americans over immigrants.

Chinese Exclusion Act

Law that banned Chinese labor immigration.

Progressives

Reformers who wanted government reform and regulation.

Muckrakers

Journalists exposing corruption and social problems.

Jane Addams

Founder of settlement houses helping immigrants and the poor.

Settlement Houses

Community centers helping poor urban families.

Imperialism

Expanding influence through colonies or territories.

Isolationism

Avoiding foreign alliances and conflicts.

Expansionism

Growing a nation’s territory and influence.

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Strategist who believed strong navies create world power.

Open Door Policy

Policy seeking equal trade access in China.

Roosevelt Corollary

Policy stating the U.S. could intervene in Latin America.

Big Stick Diplomacy

Strategy using military strength to influence nations.

Yellow Journalism

Exaggerated news to influence public opinion.

Spanish-American War Causes

USS Maine explosion and yellow journalism.

Panama Canal

Waterway built for faster trade and military movement.

Militarism

Building strong militaries and preparing for war.

Nationalism

Strong pride in one’s country.

Alliances (WWI)

System where countries were pulled into war defending allies.

Lusitania

Ship sunk by a German submarine, killing Americans.

Zimmermann Telegram

Note where Germany asked Mexico to ally against the U.S.

Trench Warfare

Tactical combat where soldiers fought from deep trenches.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

German strategy of attacking ships without warning.

War Bonds

Loans from citizens to support the war effort.

Espionage Act

Law that punished interference with the war effort.

Treaty of Versailles

Agreement that ended WWI and punished Germany.

League of Nations

International organization created to keep peace.

Red Scare

Fear of communism after WWI.

Palmer Raids

Government raids against suspected radicals.

Sacco and Vanzetti

Case that showed anti-immigrant prejudice.

Harlem Renaissance

Growth of Black culture, art, and literature.

Prohibition

Ban on alcohol under the 18th Amendment.

Flappers

Women challenging traditional social norms.

Buying on Margin

Buying stocks with borrowed money.

Speculation

Risky investing in hopes that prices rise.

Black Tuesday

The stock market crash of 1929.

Dust Bowl

Severe drought and dust storms harming farms.

Hoovervilles

Homeless camps during the Depression.

Bonus Army

WWI veterans demanding bonuses early.

New Deal

FDR’s programs to fight the Great Depression.

The 3 R’s

Relief, Recovery, Reform.

FDIC

Agency that protects bank deposits.

CCC

Program providing jobs conserving the environment.

WPA

Program creating public works jobs.

Social Security Act

Legislation providing retirement and unemployment support.

AAA

Agency that paid farmers to reduce crop production.

Causes of WWII

Treaty of Versailles, rise of dictators, militarism, expansionism, and appeasement.

Neutrality Acts

Laws meant to keep the U.S. out of foreign wars.

Cash and Carry Policy

Allowed countries to buy U.S. goods if they paid cash and transported them themselves.

Lend-Lease Act

Allowed the U.S. to lend military supplies to Allied nations.

Pearl Harbor

Japanese attack on U.S. naval base in Hawaii, bringing the U.S. into WWII.