U.S. History: Great Depression to the Cold War

These flashcards cover key terms and events from the Great Depression through the Cold War, providing definitions and context for important U.S. history concepts.

Great Depression

Severe global economic downturn that began with the 1929 stock market crash.

New Deal

Series of programs and reforms initiated by FDR to address the Great Depression.

Herbert Hoover

31st U.S. president who believed in limited government intervention during the Great Depression.

Smoot-Hawley Tariff

1930 tariff that raised taxes on imports, worsening global trade.

Dawes Plan

U.S. plan to help Germany pay WWI reparations by restructuring payments and providing loans.

Emergency Banking Act

1933 act that reopened stable banks as part of FDR's First New Deal.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

New Deal program that employed young men in environmental conservation projects.

Wagner National Labor Relations Act

1935 act that protected workers' rights to unionize.

Court Packing Scheme

FDR's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court after New Deal laws were struck down.

Containment

U.S. strategy to stop the spread of communism during the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. policy providing aid to countries resisting communism, notably Greece and Turkey.

Marshall Plan

U.S. economic aid program aimed at rebuilding Western Europe after WWII.

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 Supreme Court decision that declared school segregation unconstitutional.

Freedom Summer

1964 campaign aimed at registering African American voters in Mississippi.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark legislation banning racial discrimination in public accommodations and employment.

Vietnam War

Conflict between communist North Vietnam and U.S.-supported South Vietnam from 1955 to 1975.

Watergate Scandal

Political scandal involving a break-in at the Democratic headquarters leading to Nixon's resignation.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Congressional resolution that granted President Johnson authority to escalate the Vietnam War.

NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)

Trade agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico enacted in 1994.

9/11 Attacks

Terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, by al-Qaeda on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.