Early 20th Century and World War I Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key foreign policies, domestic events, cultural movements, and legal controversies of the early 20th century and the World War I era.

Big Stick Diplomacy

President Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy approach emphasizing peaceful negotiations backed by the implicit threat of military force.

Bootlegging

The illegal manufacturing, transportation, or sale of alcoholic beverages, particularly widespread during the Prohibition era.

Committee on Public Information

A government agency established during World War I, headed by George Creel, tasked with mobilizing public opinion in support of the war effort through propaganda.

Dawes Plan

A 1924 financial arrangement designed to resolve Germany's World War I reparations payments by facilitating private American loans to stabilize the German economy.

Demobilization

The transition process of disbanding wartime military forces and shifting a nation's armed forces and economy back to peacetime status.

Dollar Diplomacy

President William Howard Taft's foreign policy strategy of using American financial and economic power to guarantee loans and extend influence abroad, especially in Latin America and East Asia.

Espionage Act

A 1917 federal law enacted during World War I that made it a crime to interfere with military operations, encourage insubordination, or aid enemy nations.

Flappers

Young women of the 1920s who challenged traditional gender norms by wearing short hair, fashionable shorter dresses, listening to jazz, and displaying independent behavior.

Great Migration

The large-scale movement of millions of African Americans from the rural Southern United States to urban areas in the North, Midwest, and West beginning during the World War I era.

Harlem Renaissance

A vibrant cultural, artistic, and literary movement centered in Harlem, New York during the 1920s that celebrated African American heritage and creativity.

Imperialism

The policy or practice of extending a nation's authority and control over other territories through political, economic, or military means.

Installment Buying

A consumer financing practice allowing individuals to purchase goods immediately and pay for them through periodic payments over time.

Internationalist

A person who advocated for active United States involvement in global diplomacy and international bodies, specifically supporting membership in the League of Nations.

Irreconcilable

A faction of United States Senators who completely opposed the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles and entry into the League of Nations under any conditions.

League of Nations

An international organization established following World War I under the Treaty of Versailles to promote worldwide cooperation and prevent future conflicts.

Liberty Bonds

Government-issued debt securities sold to the American public to help finance the Allied war effort during World War I.

Lusitania

A British passenger ship sunk by a German submarine in 1915, killing 128 Americans and turning United States public sentiment sharply against Germany.

Modernists

Individuals during the early 20th century who embraced evolving secular cultural attitudes, scientific theories, and changing social mores over strict adherence to traditional religious practices.

Moral Diplomacy

President Woodrow Wilson's foreign policy approach proposing that the United States should only provide support and recognition to nations that shared democratic and moral principles.

Open Door Policy

A diplomatic initiative proposed by the United States in 1899 advocating for equal trading rights for all foreign nations in China and the preservation of Chinese territorial integrity.

Palmer Raids

A series of controversial law enforcement operations conducted in 1919 and 1920 by the U.S. Department of Justice to arrest and deport suspected radical leftists and anarchists.

Preparedness Movement

A political and civic effort before United States entry into World War I, led by figures like Theodore Roosevelt, advocating for the rapid strengthening of the American military.

Prohibition

The nationwide constitutional ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors in the United States from 1920 to 1933.

Red Scare

A period of widespread public hysteria and paranoia in the United States, particularly following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, driven by fears of communist infiltration and revolution.

19th Amendment

The 1920 amendment to the United States Constitution that prohibited denying citizens the right to vote based on sex, securing women's suffrage nationwide.

Reservationists

A group of United States Senators, led by Henry Cabot Lodge, who would only approve the Treaty of Versailles with specific reservations and amendments protecting American sovereignty.

Sacco & Vanzetti Trial

The infamous 1920s murder trial of Italian immigrant anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, widely condemned for being compromised by anti-radical and anti-immigrant prejudice.

Scopes Trial

The 1925 legal contest in Tennessee over a high school biology teacher's instruction of human evolution, illustrating the conflict between Christian fundamentalism and modern scientific thought.

Sedition Act

A 1918 federal law that expanded the Espionage Act by criminalizing any disloyal, profane, or abusive language concerning the United States government, Constitution, or military.

Selective Service Act

A 1917 federal law authorizing the United States government to draft men into military service to establish an army for World War I.

Speakeasy

An establishment that illegally sold alcohol during the Prohibition era, requiring secret passwords or trusted clientele to gain entry.

Traditionalist

An individual who favored customary social values, religious orthodoxies, and established cultural standards while opposing rapid modern changes in the 1920s.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

A military policy practiced by Germany during World War I in which submarines attacked merchant and passenger vessels without giving warning.

Yellow Journalism

A style of sensationalized, exaggerated, or fabricated news reporting designed to attract readers and stir public emotion, prominent leading up to the Spanish-American War.

Zimmermann Note

A intercepted 1917 diplomatic telegram from the German foreign minister proposing an alliance with Mexico against the United States in the event of American entry into World War I.