21st Amendment
Amendment which ended the Prohibition of alcohol in the US, repealing the 18th amendment
A. Philip Randolph
Black leader, who threatens a march to end discrimination in the work place; Roosevelt gives in with companies that get federal grants.
Alfred Mahn
Leading supporter in U.S.A imperialism, wrote the book, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History. Said that America's prosperity depended on foreign trade and a bigger navy was needed to protect American merchant ships. Destiny and defense.
Allies
Britain, France, and Russia- Later joined by Italy
Axis Powers
Germany, Italy, Japan
Big Stick Diplomacy
Diplomatic policy developed by T.R where the "big stick" symbolizes his power and readiness to use military force if necessary. It is a way of intimidating countries without actually harming them and was the basis of U.S. imperialistic foreign policy.
Black Thursday and Black Tuesday
when the great stock market crash occurred. The crash was caused by a number of ailments: the decline of agriculture, the unregulated trade within the process of buying stocks, and the panic which led to bank foreclosures all over the United States.
Bonus March
Event when nearly 17,000 veterans marched on Washington in 1932, to demand the military bonuses that they had been promised; this group was eventually driven from their camp city by the U.S army; increased the public perception that the Hoover administration cared little about the poor.
Boxer Rebellion
1899 rebellion in Beijing, China started by a secret society of Chinese who opposed the "foreign devils". The rebellion was ended by British troops.
Bull Moose Party
nickname for the new Progressive Party, which was formed to support Roosevelt in the election of 1912
Child Labor Act
prohibited the shipment in interstate commerce of products manufactured by children under 14 years old
Clayton Antitrust Act
1914 act designed to strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890; certain activities previously committed by big businesses, such as not allowing unions in factories and not allowing strikes, were declared illegal.
Committee on Public Information
It was headed by George Creel. The purpose of this committee was to mobilize people's minds for war, both in America and abroad. Tried to get the entire U.S. public to support U.S. involvement in WWI. Creel's organization, employed some 150,000 workers at home and oversees. He proved that words were indeed weapons.
Court Packing
Where FDR tried to add more members to the Supreme Court to pass his programs.
De Lome Letter
Spanish Ambassador's letter that was illegally removed from the U.S. Mail and published by American newspapers. It criticized President McKinley in insulting terms. Used by war hawks as a pretext for war in 1898.
Dollar Diplomacy
Foreign policy created under President Taft that had the U.S. exchanging financial support ($) for the right to "help" countries make decisions about trade and other commercial ventures. Basically it was exchanging money for political influence in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Dust Bowl
A drought in the 1930s that turned the Great Planes very dry.
Ellis Island and Angel Island
the two immigration points into the US from overseas
Emergency Banking Relief Act
gave the President power over the banking system and set up a system by which banks would be reorganized or reopened
Espionage Act
1917 act gave the government new ways to combat spying
Fair Labor Standards Act
1938 act which provided for a minimum wage and restricted shipments of goods produced with child labor
FDIC
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Reserve Act
A 1913 law that set up a system of federal banks and gave government the power to control the money supply
First Red Scare
widespread fear of Communism in the US during the 1920s after the revolution in Russia
Flappers
Young women of the 1920s that behaved and dressed in a radical fashion
Fourteen Points
A series of proposals in which U.S. president Woodrow Wilson outlined a plan for achieving a lasting peace after World War I.
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke of Austria-Hungary assassinated by a Serbian nationalist. A major catalyst for WWI.
Gentlemen's Agreement
Agreement when Japan agreed to curb the number of workers coming to the US and in exchange Roosevelt agreed to allow the wives of the Japenese men already living in the US to join them
Great Depression
the economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s
Harlem Renaissance
A period in the 1920s when African-American achievements in art and music and literature flourished
Hundred Days
the special session of Congress that Roosevelt called to launch his New Deal programs. The special session lasted about three months: 100 days.
Immigration Act of 1921
restricted the flow immigrants moving in to the US amid fears of immigrants taking too many jobs
Imperialism
A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
Founded in 1905, this radical union, also known as the Wobblies aimed to unite the American working class into one union to promote labor's interests. It worked to organize unskilled and foreign-born laborers, advocated social revolution, and led several major strikes. Stressed solidarity.
Jacob Riis
A Danish immigrant, he became a reporter who pointed out the terrible conditions of the tenement houses of the big cities where immigrants lived during the late 1800s. He wrote How The Other Half Lives in 1890.
Kellogg-Briand Pact
Agreement signed in 1928 in which nations agreed not to pose the threat of war against one another
Korematsu v. US
1944 Supreme Court case where the Supreme Court upheld the order providing for the relocation of Japanese Americans. It was not until 1988 that Congress formally apologized and agreed to pay $20,000 2 each survivor
League of Nations
an international organization formed in 1920 to promote cooperation and peace among nations
Lend-Lease Act
allowed sales or loans of war materials to any country whose defense the president deems vital to the defense of the U.S
Lusitania
A British passenger ship that was sunk by a German U-Boat on May 7, 1915. 128 Americans died. The sinking greatly turned American opinion against the Germans, helping the move towards entering the war.
Manhattan Project
A secret U.S. project for the construction of the atomic bomb.
Margaret Sanger
American leader of the movement to legalize birth control during the early 1900's. As a nurse in the poor sections of New York City, she had seen the suffering caused by unwanted pregnancy. Founded the first birth control clinic in the U.S. and the American Birth Control League, which later became Planned Parenthood.
Moral Diplomacy
Foreign policy proposed by President Wilson to condemn imperialism, spread democracy, and promote peace
Muckrakers
Journalists who attempted to find corruption or wrongdoing in industries and expose it to the public
Munich Conference
1938 conference at which European leaders attempted to appease Hitler by turning over the Sudetenland to him in exchange for promise that Germany would not expand Germany's territory any further.
NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Labor Relations Act
A 1935 law, also known as the Wagner Act, that guarantees workers the right of collective bargaining sets down rules to protect unions and organizers, and created the National Labor Relations Board to regulate labor-managment relations.
Neutrality Acts
4 laws passed in the late 1930s that were designed to keep the US out of international incidents
New Deal
A series of reforms enacted by the Franklin Roosevelt administration between 1933 and 1942 with the goal of ending the Great Depression.
New Deal Coalition
coalition forged by the Democrats who dominated American politics from the 1930's to the 1960's. its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals.
New Immigrants
immigrants who had come to the US after the 1880s from southern and eastern europe
Non-interventionism
Political rulers should avoid entangling alliances with other nations and avoid all wars not related to direct territorial self-defense.
Open Door Policy
A policy proposed by the US in 1899, under which ALL nations would have equal opportunities to trade in China.
Panama Canal
Ship canal cut across the isthmus of Panama by United States, it opened in 1915.
Pearl Harbor
Base in hawaii that was bombed by japan on December 7, 1941, which eagered America to enter the war.
Platt Amendment
Legislation that severely restricted Cuba's sovereignty and gave the US the right to intervene if Cuba got into trouble
Plessy v. Ferguson
a 1896 Supreme Court decision which legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal
Progressives
Reformers who worked to stop unfair practices by businesses and improve the way government works
Prohibition (18th amendment)
banned the production, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Pure Food and Drug Act
1906 - Forbade the manufacture or sale of mislabeled or adulterated food or drugs, it gave the government broad powers to ensure the safety and efficacy of drugs in order to abolish the "patent" drug trade. Still in existence as the FDA.
Roosevelt Corollary
Roosevelt's 1904 extension of the Monroe Doctrine, stating that the United States has the right to protect its economic interests in South And Central America by using military force
Rough Riders
Volunteer soldiers led by Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish American War
Schlieffen Plan
Attack plan by Germans, proposed by Schliffen, lightning quick attack against France. Proposed to go through Belgium then attack France, Belgium resisted, other countries took up their aid, long fight, used trench warfare.
Scopes Trial
1925 court case in which Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan debated the issue of teaching evolution in public schools
Scottsboro Boys
Nine young black men between the ages of 13 to 19 were accused of of raping two white women by the names of Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. All of the young men were charged and convicted of rape by white juries, despite the weak and contradictory testimonies of the witnesses
Sedition Act
1918 law that made it illegal to criticize the government
Social Security Act
created a tax on workers and employers. That money provided monthly pensions for retired people.
Spanish Influenza
A lethal flu virus that killed millions worldwide in 1918
Spanish-American War
In 1898, a conflict between the United States and Spain, in which the U.S. supported the Cubans' fight for independence
Sphere of Influence
A foreign region in which a nation has control over trade and other economic activities.
Spirit of St. Louis
a custom airplane used by Charles Lindbergh to make the first solo, non-stop trans-Atlantic flight
Square Deal
Economic policy by Roosevelt that favored fair relationships between companies and workers
Teller Amendment
Legislation that promised the US would not annex Cuba after winning the Spanish-American war
Treaty of Versailles
the treaty imposed on Germany by the Allied powers in 1920 after the end of World War I which demanded exorbitant reparations from the Germans
Upton Sinclair
Wrote "The Jungle"
USS Maine
Ship that explodes off the coast of Cuba in Havana harbor and helps contribute to the start of the Spanish-American War
Washington Conference
1921 - president harding invited delegates from Europe and Japan, and they agreed to limit production of war ships, to not attack each other's possessions, and to respect China's independence
White Man's Burden
idea that many European countries had a duty to spread their religion and culture to those less civilized
Women's Suffrage
the right of women to vote
Yellow Journalism
Journalism that exploits, distorts, or exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers
Zimmerman Note
1917 - Germany sent this to Mexico instructing an ambassador to convince Mexico to go to war with the U.S. It was intercepted and caused the U.S. to mobilized against Germany, which had proven it was hostile