US History Lecture Review: Gilded Age to Clinton Administration

Flashcards covering key vocabulary terms, figures, and historical concepts from the Gilded Age through the late 20th century as described in the lecture notes.

Robber Baron

A term coined by Matthew Josephson describing entrepreneurs who gained wealth from workers, engaged in little innovation, exploited forces, and wiped out competition to create monopolies.

Captain of Industry

A positive view of business leaders as innovators who achieved economic growth, created jobs, and practiced philanthropy.

Horizontal Integration

A business expansion strategy where a company grows by buying its competitors, such as independent steel mills combining into one company.

Vertical Integration

A monopoly strategy where a corporation controls all steps in the production process, from raw materials like mines to shipping and manufacturing.

Social Darwinism

A justification for wealth used by figures like Rockefeller, applying biological concepts of survival of the fittest to society and business.

Gospel of Wealth

Andrew Carnegie's belief that the wealthy have a moral obligation to use their riches for the improvement of society through philanthropy.

Political Machine

An unofficial system of political organization, such as Tammany Hall, that used graft and patronage to maintain power, often led by a 'boss' like William Tweed.

Populists

A political movement representing Westerners and farmers that supported a graduated income tax, free silver (bimetallism), and government ownership of railroads.

Cross of Gold

A famous speech by William Jennings Bryan advocating for the silver standard and criticizing the gold standard for its impact on laborers.

Muckrakers

Investigative journalists during the Progressive Era, such as Upton Sinclair and Ida Tarbell, who exposed corruption and wrongdoing in business and government.

Social Gospel Movement

A Protestant Christian movement that preached salvation through service to the poor and motivated the establishment of settlement houses.

Square Deal

Theodore Roosevelt's domestic program focused on the 'Three Cs': Control of corporations, Consumer protection, and Conservation of natural resources.

Zimmerman Telegram

A 1917 intercepted message from Germany to Mexico proposing an alliance against the U.S., which served as a major catalyst for American entry into WWI.

Committee of Public Information (CPI)

A wartime agency led by George Creel intended to sell the war to the American public through posters, leaflets, and 'four-minute men' speeches.

League of Nations

The 14th point of Woodrow Wilson's peace plan which proposed an international association of nations to prevent future global conflicts.

Supply Side Economics

An economic theory popularized in the 1920s and 1980s that involves cutting taxes on the wealthy and corporations to stimulate investment and growth.

Bonus Army

A group of WWI veterans who marched on Washington during the Great Depression demanding immediate payment of their promised pensions.

Social Security Act

A 1935 New Deal law that established a national pension system for the elderly and aid for the disabled and unemployed.

Blitzkrieg

A 'lightning war' strategy used by Germany in WWII involving rapid, overwhelming force using tanks, planes, and motorized infantry.

Executive Order 9066

A WWII order by FDR that authorized the relocation and incarceration of over $110,000$ Japanese Americans into internment camps.

Containment

A Cold War foreign policy developed by George Kennan aimed at stopping the expansion of Soviet communism abroad.

Truman Doctrine

A policy stating the U.S. would support 'free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures,' specifically aiding Greece and Turkey.

McCarthyism

A term for the 'Second Red Scare' characterized by sensationalist and often baseless accusations of communist infiltration by Senator Joe McCarthy.

The Great Society

LBJ's domestic programs intended to eliminate poverty and racial injustice, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

A 1964 congressional action that granted LBJ broad powers to take necessary military measures in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.

Tet Offensive

A major 1968 military campaign by the Vietcong that served as a moral defeat for the U.S. and increased public opposition to the Vietnam War.

Detente

A relaxation of Cold War tensions pursued by Richard Nixon, characterized by his visits to China and the Soviet Union and the signing of the SALT I treaty.

Stagflation

An economic condition during the 1970s marked by stagnant economic growth and high unemployment combined with high inflation.

Reaganomics

The formal economic policies of Ronald Reagan involving tax cuts, deregulation, and increased military spending to foster growth.

Iran-Contra Affair

A scandal during the Reagan administration involving the secret sale of weapons to Iran to fund the Contras, a rebel group in Nicaragua, violating the Boland Amendment.

NAFTA

The North American Free Trade Agreement signed by Bill Clinton to lower trade barriers between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.