US History: Jim Crow, Progressivism, Imperialism, and World War I

Vocabulary practice cards focusing on major historical concepts, legal cases, constitutional amendments, and foreign policies from late 19th- and early 20th-century U.S. history.

Grandfather Laws

Post-Reconstruction voting laws that permitted a person to vote only if they could prove their grandfather had voted in 1860, effectively disenfranchising Black citizens.

Cummings v. School Board of Education (1899)

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld 'separate but equal' racial segregation in public education.

Common Carrier Charter

A legal mandate requiring public transportation entities, such as railroads, to accept and serve all customers on an equal basis.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

A U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling that the 14th Amendment guarantees equal legal rights but not social equality, establishing the legal doctrine of 'separate but equal'.

Tammany Hall

A prominent New York City political machine that provided basic assistance and services to poor immigrants in exchange for political votes.

Progressivism

A reform movement developed as a reaction against political corruption, rapid industrialization, and urban expansion.

17th Amendment (1913)

A constitutional amendment that established the direct popular election of U.S. Senators by citizens rather than state legislatures.

Initiative

A Progressive political process allowing citizens to draft proposed laws and gather signatures on a petition to place the legislation directly on the ballot.

Referendum

A Progressive voting mechanism that enables citizens to vote directly on measures placed on the ballot via an initiative.

Recall

A Progressive political process that allows voters to remove an elected official from office before the expiration of their term.

Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

Federal legislation enacted in response to patent medicine scandals that mandated all ingredients be clearly listed on consumer product labels.

Underwood Tariff (1912)

Tariff legislation that lowered import taxes to 30% and expanded the list of goods exempted from tariffs.

19th Amendment

A constitutional amendment passed in the wake of women's wartime service that granted women the right to vote.

18th Amendment

A constitutional amendment that prohibited the manufacture, importation, and sale of intoxicating liquor in the United States.

Imperialism

The policy of establishing and maintaining an empire to secure raw materials and access foreign markets through territorial conquest and colony establishment.

Reconcentrado

A Spanish military strategy instituted by General Weyler in 1896 that forcibly relocated Cuban villagers into concentration camps.

Platt Amendment (1901)

Provisions added to the Cuban Constitution that gave the U.S. control over Cuba's foreign policy, established a naval base at Guantanamo Bay, and granted the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban affairs.

Anti-Imperialist League

An organization formed to oppose U.S. annexation of foreign territories like the Philippines, arguing based on high costs, American self-rule principles, and avoiding entangling alliances.

Roosevelt Corollary (1904)

An extension of the Monroe Doctrine warning Latin American nations to keep their internal affairs in order or face U.S. military intervention.

Collective Security

A system of international military alliances in which an attack against any single member nation is considered an attack against all member nations.

Schlieffen Plan

Germany's WWI military strategy designed to deploy 90% of its forces to defeat France within six weeks before transferring troops to fight Russia.

Zimmerman Telegram (1917)

A secret communication from Germany offering a military alliance to Mexico against the U.S. if the United States entered World War I.

Espionage and Sedition Act (1917)

WWI federal legislation making it a criminal offense to criticize or obstruct the war effort, or to provide assistance to enemy nations.

Fourteen Points

President Woodrow Wilson's proposed post-war framework emphasizing open trade, an end to secret treaties, self-determination, and the establishment of the League of Nations.

Article 231 (War Guilt Clause)

A provision in the Treaty of Versailles requiring Germany to accept full and sole responsibility for causing World War I.