U.S. History Benchmark #1: Foundations Through the Great Depression

Comprehensive review vocabulary flashcards covering major topics from Unit 1 (Foundations) through Unit 7 (The Great Depression & New Deal).

Declaration of Independence (1776)

Document that declared independence from Britain, asserting that people have natural rights and that government derives its power from the consent of the governed.

U.S. Constitution (1787)

The supreme law that created the federal government and established limited government, separation of powers, and checks and balances.

Bill of Rights (1791)

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution that protect individual liberties from government abuse.

Federalism

A governmental system that divides authority between national and state governments.

Three Branches of Government

The constitutional division of power: the legislative branch makes laws, the executive branch enforces laws, and the judicial branch interprets laws.

1st Amendment

Constitutional amendment protecting five essential liberties: Religion, Assembly, Press, Petition, and Speech (RAPPS).

4th Amendment

Constitutional amendment providing protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.

5th Amendment

Constitutional amendment guaranteeing due process, protection against self-incrimination and double jeopardy, and just compensation for public use of private property.

10th Amendment

Constitutional amendment establishing that powers not delegated to the United States, nor prohibited to the states, remain with the states or the people.

E Pluribus Unum

A traditional national motto meaning “Out of many, one,” representing unity among people from different backgrounds.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that people govern in a constitutional republic by electing representatives, supported by civic participation such as voting and jury service.

Industrialization

The rapid expansion of factories, technology, and mass production that increased output and jobs while causing cities to grow as people moved for work.

Transcontinental Railroad (1869)

A railway network completed in 1869 that connected eastern and western markets, increasing settlement, shipping, and trade.

Andrew Carnegie

An industrialist who utilized the Bessemer process to make steel cheaper, supporting the construction of railroads, bridges, and skyscrapers.

Laissez-Faire

A policy of limited government interference in business operations that encouraged economic growth but allowed abuses.

Monopolies and Trusts

Large corporate combinations that gained control of industries, limiting competition and raising public concerns about prices and corporate power.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

Immigration law driven by nativism and fear of job competition that restricted Chinese immigration, leading to fewer available workers for businesses.

Labor Unions

Worker organizations that utilized strikes and collective bargaining to demand safer working conditions, shorter hours, and higher wages.

Political Machines

Corrupt political organizations, exemplified by Boss Tweed, that maintained power by providing supporters with jobs, contracts, and services in exchange for votes.

Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)

Legislation that required merit-based hiring for many federal positions rather than awarding jobs through political favors.

Interstate Commerce Act (1887)

Federal legislation that expanded federal oversight over railroad rates and unfair business practices.

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

Federal legislation that authorized government action against trusts and business combinations that restrained trade.

Imperialism

The policy of extending a nation's political, military, or economic influence over other regions to secure markets, resources, and strategic power.

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Naval officer and strategist who argued that a strong navy and overseas bases were essential for achieving national power.

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized and exaggerated newspaper reporting that helped build American public support for war against Spain.

Spanish-American War (1898)

A war resulting in U.S. victory over Spain that granted the United States control of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, elevating American influence overseas.

Annexation of Hawaii (1898)

The acquisition of the Hawaiian Islands for strategic naval bases and resources after American business interests assisted in overthrowing the monarchy.

Open Door Policy (1899)

A U.S. foreign policy initiative that advocated for equal trading opportunities for foreign powers within China.

Panama Canal (opened 1914)

An artificial waterway opening in 1914 that shortened maritime transit between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, aiding commerce and naval movement.

Roosevelt Corollary (1904)

An extension of the Monroe Doctrine asserting the U.S. right to intervene in Latin American affairs to prevent European intervention.

Progressivism

A reform movement aimed at remedying the societal problems caused by industrialization, political corruption, unsafe products, and economic inequality.

Muckrakers

Investigative journalists who exposed societal, corporate, and political abuses to rally public support for progressive reforms.

The Jungle (1906)

A muckraking novel by Upton Sinclair that exposed unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry, fostering support for consumer protection laws.

Jane Addams / Hull House

A social reformer and her Chicago settlement house that aided immigrant and impoverished families while advocating for women to have a greater voice in municipal government.

Ida B. Wells

A journalist and reformer who investigated the atrocities of lynching and campaigned for civil rights.

W. E. B. Du Bois / NAACP

Civil rights leader who fought for racial equality and helped establish the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to contest racial discrimination.

Theodore Roosevelt

Progressive U.S. President who championed natural conservation, consumer protection measures, and stronger federal regulation of corporations.

Initiative, Referendum, and Recall

Democratic procedural reforms that expanded direct democracy by allowing voters to propose legislation, vote directly on laws, or remove elected officials from office.

17th Amendment (1913)

Constitutional amendment establishing the direct popular election of U.S. senators by the voters of each state.

18th Amendment (1919)

Constitutional amendment establishing national Prohibition by banning the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol, later fostering illegal markets and organized crime.

19th Amendment (1920)

Constitutional amendment prohibiting the denial of voting rights based on sex, thereby granting women's suffrage nationwide.

Meat Inspection Act (1906)

Consumer protection law mandating federal inspection and sanitary standards for commercial meatpacking operations.

Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

Federal legislation prohibiting the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or fraudulently labeled food and drugs.

Conservation / National Parks

Environmental movement and federal policy dedicated to safeguarding public lands and natural resources from overuse for future generations.

MAIN Causes of WWI

The four underlying factors that increased geopolitical tensions in Europe: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism.

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1914)

The catalyst event in 1914 that triggered Europe's mutual defense alliance systems and initiated World War I.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

A German naval strategy involving submarine (U-boat) attacks against merchant and passenger shipping without warning, imperiling American lives and commerce.

Lusitania (1915)

A British passenger ship torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat in 1915, causing the death of American passengers and inflaming anti-German sentiment.

Zimmermann Telegram (1917)

A intercepted diplomatic message wherein Germany proposed a military alliance with Mexico against the United States, accelerating U.S. entry into World War I.

Trench Warfare

A combat style characterized by fortified defensive ditches and machine guns on the Western Front, leading to prolonged stalemates and high casualties.

Selective Service Act (1917)

Legislation authorizing a national draft to expand the U.S. military forces during World War I.

American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)

The U.S. military contingent commanded by General John J. Pershing deployed to fight on the European battlefront in World War I.

Espionage and Sedition Acts

Wartime federal laws that prohibited antiwar speech and interference with the war effort, prompting civil liberties concerns.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Supreme Court decision that upheld wartime free speech restrictions when speech presents a “clear and present danger.”

Wilson’s Fourteen Points (1918)

President Woodrow Wilson's proposed framework designed to establish a lasting peace and promote international cooperation following World War I.

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

The peace treaty that concluded World War I, placing severe punitive terms on Germany and establishing grievances that led to postwar resentment.

League of Nations

An international peacekeeping organization proposed by Woodrow Wilson that the U.S. Senate refused to join due to fears of binding foreign commitments.

Henry Cabot Lodge

The U.S. Senator who led the opposition against joining the League of Nations without reservations protecting American autonomy.

Henry Ford / Assembly Line

The industrialist whose implementation of standardized components and moving assembly lines reduced production costs and made automobiles broadly affordable.

Consumer Credit / Installment Plans

A financing system allowing consumers to purchase goods with borrowed money over time, driving consumer spending but sharply raising household debt.

Harlem Renaissance

A cultural, artistic, and literary movement flourishing among African Americans during the 1920s, centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.

Great Migration

The large-scale movement of African Americans out of the rural South into northern industrial cities to secure factory jobs and escape segregation.

Flappers

Young women in the 1920s who defied conventional social norms through distinct styles of dress, behavior, and expanded public roles.

Charles Lindbergh (1927)

An aviator who completed the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in 1927, becoming a national hero and symbol of technological progress.

First Red Scare / Palmer Raids

A wave of anticommunist hysteria following WWI that resulted in mass raids, warrantless arrests, deportations, and deep suspicion of foreign-born individuals.

Immigration Quotas (1920s)

Federal legislation reflecting nativist attitudes that strictly limited immigration numbers, particularly targeting southern and eastern Europeans.

Return to Normalcy

President Warren G. Harding's political platform promising a return to prewar domestic stability, economic prosperity, and reduced foreign entanglements.

Indian Citizenship Act (1924)

Legislation enacted in 1924 that granted full U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial United States.

Stock Market Crash (1929)

The sudden, severe collapse in equity valuations in the fall of 1929 that helped trigger the broader economic catastrophe of the Great Depression.

Buying on Margin

The practice of borrowing money to invest in the stock market, exposing both investors and financial institutions to catastrophic risks when values collapsed.

Bank Failures

The wave of financial collapses triggered by speculative investments and runs on banks, which wiped out customer savings and caused credit contraction.

Overproduction and Underconsumption

An economic imbalance wherein farms and factories produced more commodities than consumers could afford to buy, causing prices to collapse and triggering layoffs.

Smoot-Hawley Tariff

An excessively high tariff law that prompted retaliatory foreign tariffs, severely reducing international trade and worsening the Great Depression.

Dust Bowl

An ecological disaster in the Great Plains during the 1930s caused by persistent drought and poor farming techniques, forcing mass farm family migrations.

Mexican Repatriation

Depression-era government-encouraged roundups and deportations that forced around one million Mexicans and Mexican Americans, including U.S. citizens, to leave the country.

Franklin D. Roosevelt / New Deal

President whose expansive New Deal agenda used direct federal intervention to deliver relief to the unemployed, stimulate economic recovery, and reform financial structures.

FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)

A New Deal regulatory program that provides federal insurance for commercial bank deposits to restore citizen confidence in the banking system.

SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)

A federal agency created during the New Deal to regulate financial securities markets, eliminate fraudulent practices, and protect investors.

Social Security Act (1935)

New Deal legislation that utilized federal taxation and spending powers to establish old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and federal aid for vulnerable groups.

Court-Packing Plan (1937)

FDR’s controversial proposal to add additional justices to the Supreme Court to overcome legal barriers to New Deal legislation, sparking separation-of-powers concerns.

21st Amendment (1933)

Constitutional amendment that officially repealed the 18th Amendment, ending national Prohibition.