US History Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover essential terms and concepts from US history, focusing on economic conditions, social changes, political responses, and cultural movements during the early 20th century.

Bear Market

A period when stock prices are falling and investor confidence is low.

Bull Market

A period when stock prices are rising steadily and investors are confident about the economy.

ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union, an organization that defends individual rights and liberties.

Fordney-McCumber Tariff

A U.S. law enacted in 1922 that raised tariffs to very high levels to protect American businesses after World War I.

Dawes Plan

A U.S. plan created in 1924 to help stabilize Germany and Europe after World War I.

The Palmer Raids

A series of government raids from 1919-1920 aimed at apprehending and deporting suspected radicals.

Great Depression

The worst economic crisis in U.S. history, characterized by massive unemployment and social hardship.

Dust Bowl

A disaster area on the Great Plains caused by prolonged drought and economic hardship during the Great Depression.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act

A tariff act passed in 1930 that raised import duties, which led to a trade war and worsened the Great Depression.

Isolationism

A policy favoring a nation’s withdrawal from international affairs, prevalent in U.S. politics after World War I.

Prohibition

The period during which the Eighteenth Amendment outlawed the sale of alcohol in the United States.

Lost Generation

A group of American writers and artists in the 1920s disillusioned by World War I and the subsequent consumer culture.

The Washington Naval Conference

An international conference in 1921 aimed at naval disarmament and reducing military competition among Great Powers.

Kellogg-Briand Pact

A treaty signed in 1928 by 62 nations that renounced war as a means of national policy.

Sacco and Vanzetti

Two Italian immigrants and anarchists whose trial and execution in the 1920s raised concerns about prejudice and civil liberties.

Back-to-Africa Movement

A campaign led by Marcus Garvey appealing to African Americans to return to their ancestral homeland.