US History Final

League of Nations

Created after WWI to maintain peace, but the U.S. did not join.

Stock Market Crash (1929)

Major stock market collapse, leading to the Great Depression.

Bank Failures

Many banks closed during the Great Depression, causing people to lose their savings.

Hooverville

Shantytowns named after President Hoover, where homeless people lived during the Great Depression.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

U.S. President during the Great Depression and WWII; created the New Deal programs.

New Deal Programs

Government programs to help the economy during the Great Depression (e.g., Social Security Program).

Fireside Chats

Radio talks by FDR to comfort and inform Americans during tough times.

Isolationism

U.S. policy of staying out of international conflicts before WWII.

Fascism

A political system led by dictators like Hitler (Germany) and Mussolini (Italy).

Adolf Hitler

Leader of Nazi Germany; wrote "Mein Kampf."

Mein Kampf

Book written by Hitler outlining his ideas and plans.

Mussolini (Benito Mussolini)

Fascist leader of Italy during WWII.

Hirohito

Emperor of Japan during WWII.

Hideki Tojo

Military leader of Japan during WWII

Lebensraum

Hitler's policy aiming to expand German territory.

Appeasement

Policy of giving in to Hitler's demands to avoid conflict, exemplified by the Munich Conference.

Munich Conference (1938)

Meeting where Britain and France agreed to Hitler's demands for part of Czechoslovakia.

Neutrality

Policy of not taking sides in a conflict; the U.S. initially remained neutral in WWII.

Nazi-Soviet Pact (1939)

Non-aggression agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union before WWII.

Blitzkrieg Strategy

“Lightning war" tactic used by Germany to quickly conquer territories.

Dunkirk (1940)

Massive evacuation of Allied soldiers from France.

Maginot Line

Defensive line built by France to protect against German invasion.

Battle of Britain (1940)

Air battle between Britain and Germany; Britain won.

Japan Invades China (1937)

Japan's aggressive expansion into Chinese territory before and during WWII.

Egypt's Importance in WW2

Strategic location for control over the Suez Canal and Middle Eastern oil.

U.S. Cold War Goal

To contain the spread of communism.

Cold War

Period of tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union after WWII.

Iron Curtain

Term used to describe the division between communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe.

Containment

U.S. policy to stop the spread of communism.

Marshall Plan (1948)

U.S. aid to help rebuild European economies after WWII.

Berlin Crisis / Airlift (1948-1949)

U.S. and allies flew supplies to West Berlin during a Soviet blockade.

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) (1949)

Military alliance between the U.S., Canada, and Western European countries.

Joseph Stalin

Leader of the Soviet Union during WWII and early Cold War.

Mao Zedong

Leader of communist China.

Korean War (1950-1953)

Conflict between communist North Korea (supported by China and the USSR) and South Korea (supported by the U.S.).

Dwight Eisenhower

U.S. President during the 1950s; enforced desegregation and dealt with Cold War tensions.

Domino Theory

The belief that if one country falls to communism, neighboring countries will too.

Desegregation

Ending the separation of races; began in schools with the Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

Little Rock Nine (1957

Group of African American students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Freedom Riders (1961)

Civil rights activists who rode buses to challenge segregation in the South.

Civil Rights Act (1964)

Law that banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Lyndon Johnson

U.S. President after Kennedy; passed major civil rights legislation.

Malcolm X

Civil rights leader who advocated for black empowerment and self-defense.

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956)

Protest against bus segregation led by Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.

NAACP

Organization that fought for civil rights through legal challenges.

Separate But Equal

Legal doctrine overturned by Brown v. Board of Education, which ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional.

Vietnam War (1955-1975)

Conflict between communist North Vietnam and non-communist South Vietnam, with the U.S. supporting the South.

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

 Confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over missiles in Cuba; brought the world close to nuclear war.

Normandy Invasion (D-Day) (1944)

Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France during WWII.

Operation Barbarossa (1941)

German invasion of the Soviet Union during WWII.

Stalingrad (1942-1943)

Major battle between Germany and the Soviet Union; turning point in WWII.

Island Hopping

U.S. strategy in the Pacific during WWII to capture key islands.

Gulf War (1990-1991)

Conflict where the U.S. led a coalition to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation.

Berlin Wall (1961-1989)

Wall separating East and West Berlin; symbol of the Cold War.

Collapse of Berlin Wall (1989)

Event marking the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.

Collapse of USSR (1991)

End of the Soviet Union and the Cold War.

Superpower Status*

The U.S. and USSR were the world's dominant military and political powers during the Cold War.

Glasnost

Soviet policy of openness and transparency introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev.

Perestroika

Soviet policy of economic restructuring introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev.

United Nations

International organization founded after WWII to promote peace and cooperation.

Robert F. Kennedy

U.S. Senator and civil rights advocate, assassinated in 1968.

Barack Obama

First African American President of the U.S. (2009-2017).

Donald Trump

U.S. President from 2017-2021.