U.S. History Unit 2: 1920s–1950s Review

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering major political, social, economic, and cultural developments in the United States from the 1920s through the early Cold War era.

Return to Normalcy

Post-WWI Republican aim to promote business, low taxes, individualism, and isolationism.

Teapot Dome Scandal

1920s bribery scandal in which Interior Secretary Albert Fall leased federal oil reserves to private companies.

Assembly Line

Mass-production method popularized by Henry Ford that greatly increased manufacturing efficiency.

Five-Dollar Day

Henry Ford’s 1914 wage plan that doubled daily pay and boosted worker productivity and consumption.

Tulsa Massacre (1921)

Violent white mob attack on Tulsa’s prosperous Black Wall Street district, leaving dozens dead and the area destroyed.

“New Negro” Movement

NAACP-led push for Black empowerment, cultural pride, anti-lynching, and anti-imperialism in the 1920s.

Garvey Movement

Marcus Garvey’s UNIA campaign for Black pride, economic self-sufficiency, and a return to Africa.

Ku Klux Klan (1920s)

Revived white supremacist group claiming to be “100 percent American,” targeting minorities and immigrants.

National Origins Act (1924)

U.S. law creating immigration quotas of 2 percent of 1890 census figures and banning most Asian immigration.

Herbert Hoover (1928)

Pro-business, “dry” Republican who won the 1928 presidential election on a promise of continued prosperity.

Al Smith

Urban, “wet,” Catholic Democratic nominee in 1928 who faced widespread nativist prejudice.

Car Culture

1920s phenomenon in which affordable automobiles symbolized individualism and reshaped American mobility.

The Jazz Singer (1927)

First feature-length film with synchronized sound, ushering in the era of “talkies.”

“New Woman”

1920s ideal of independent women challenging Victorian norms through work, fashion, and social freedom.

Volstead Act (1919)

Enforcement law for Prohibition that defined alcoholic beverages and penalties for their production or sale.

Speakeasy

Illegal Prohibition-era bar that often blurred gender and racial boundaries.

Harlem Renaissance

1920s cultural movement celebrating African American art, music, and literature in Harlem.

Individualism

Principle of being independent and self-reliant, widely celebrated in 1920s America.

Stock Market Crash of 1929

Sharp decline in U.S. stock prices that signaled the start of the Great Depression.

Dust Bowl

1930s ecological disaster caused by drought and poor farming practices that ravaged Great Plains agriculture.

Smoot-Hawley Tariff

1930 protectionist measure under Hoover that worsened global trade and the Depression.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

Hoover-era agency lending federal funds to banks and businesses in hopes of stimulating the economy.

Bank Holiday (1933)

FDR’s temporary nationwide closure of banks to stop runs and restore confidence.

FDIC

New Deal agency insuring bank deposits up to $5,000 (now higher) to protect savers.

Glass-Steagall Act

1933 law separating commercial and investment banking and creating the FDIC.

Wagner Act (1935)

Guaranteed workers’ right to collective bargaining and created the National Labor Relations Board.

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Largest New Deal agency providing millions of jobs in public works and the arts.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

New Deal program employing young men on conservation projects like planting trees and building parks.

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)

Paid farmers to limit production, aiming to raise crop prices during the Depression.

Social Security Act (1935)

Established pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to vulnerable groups.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Active First Lady who championed women’s, civil, and labor rights through media and advocacy.

Black Cabinet

Unofficial group of African American advisors who promoted civil rights within the New Deal.

Court-Packing Plan

FDR’s failed 1937 proposal to add justices over age 70, seen as a threat to judicial independence.

Good Neighbor Policy

FDR’s pledge of non-intervention and cooperation with Latin America in the 1930s.

War Production Board

WWII agency that directed industries to prioritize military goods and restrict consumer production.

D-Day (June 6, 1944)

Allied invasion of Normandy, the largest amphibious assault in history, turning point in Europe.

Island Hopping

U.S. Pacific strategy of seizing key islands to approach Japan during WWII.

Double V Campaign

African American drive for victory against fascism abroad and racism at home during WWII.

Zoot Suit Riots (1943)

Series of violent clashes in Los Angeles where U.S. servicemen attacked Mexican American youths.

Navajo Code Talkers

Native American Marines who used their language to create an unbreakable WWII communications code.

Japanese Internment

WWII relocation of 120,000 Japanese Americans to guarded camps under Executive Order 9066.

Manhattan Project

Top-secret U.S. program that developed the atomic bomb used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

United Nations (1945)

International organization formed after WWII to promote peace, security, and human rights.

Containment

Cold War policy of preventing the spread of communism, first articulated by George Kennan.

Truman Doctrine (1947)

U.S. pledge to aid nations resisting communism, initially Greece and Turkey.

Berlin Airlift (1948-49)

Allied operation supplying West Berlin by air during the Soviet blockade.

HUAC

House committee that investigated alleged communist influence in American life.

McCarthyism

Era of intense anticommunist suspicion led by Senator Joseph McCarthy’s unfounded accusations.

Lavender Scare

Cold War campaign that purged homosexuals from government jobs as security risks.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

American couple executed in 1953 for conspiracy to pass atomic secrets to the USSR.

Hollywood Ten

Screenwriters and directors jailed and blacklisted for refusing HUAC testimony in 1947.

Fair Deal

Truman’s domestic program expanding New Deal reforms like minimum wage and public housing.

Korean War

1950-53 conflict that solidified U.S. global containment through military defense of South Korea.

Domino Theory

Eisenhower’s belief that if one nation fell to communism, neighboring countries would follow.