American History: Imperialism, Progressivism, World War I, and the Great Depression

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering late 19th- and early 20th-century U.S. history, including American imperialism, Progressive reforms, World War I, cultural shifts, and the Great Depression and New Deal.

Spanish-American War (1898)

A war between the United States and Spain, fought primarily in Cuba and the Philippines.

Philippine Insurrection (1899–1902)

An armed conflict between the United States and Filipino nationalists who wanted independence after Spain's defeat.

Panama Canal

A canal across Panama connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, opened in 1914.

Queen Liliuokalani (1838–1917)

The last reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, who opposed the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893.

Naval Reserve Act (1916)

A federal law that established a formal Naval Reserve, allowing civilians to train for naval service and serve when needed.

Progressivism

A reform movement, especially influential from the 1890s through the 1920s, that sought to address problems caused by industrialization, urbanization, political corruption, and inequality.

Ida Tarbell (1857–1944)

An investigative journalist known for exposing unfair business practices, particularly through her series The History of the Standard Oil Company.

John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937)

An American industrialist who became one of the wealthiest people in history through the oil industry and built Standard Oil into a dominant force.

Standard Oil

An oil company founded by John D. Rockefeller and his associates in 1870 that came to dominate the American oil industry until broken up under antitrust law in 1911.

Margaret Sanger (1879–1966)

A nurse and birth-control activist who campaigned for women's access to contraception and opened a clinic in Brooklyn in 1916.

Eighteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment that prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors in the United States.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935)

A feminist writer, lecturer, and social reformer who criticized women's economic dependence and restrictive gender roles.

William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925)

A Democratic politician, three-time presidential nominee, and prominent populist who advocated policies intended to help ordinary Americans, such as free silver.

Clarence Darrow (1857–1938)

A famous defense attorney known for representing labor activists and defendants in controversial criminal cases, including the 1925 Scopes Trial.

Committee on Public Information (1917–1919)

A U.S. government agency created to build public support for American participation in World War I through organized publicity and propaganda.

George Creel (1876–1953)

A journalist and government official who led the Committee on Public Information during World War I and organized the Four-Minute Men.

Lusitania

A British passenger liner sunk by a German submarine on May 7, 1915, killing nearly 1,200 people, including 128 American citizens.

Zimmermann Telegram (1917)

A secret German diplomatic message proposing a military alliance with Mexico if the United States entered World War I against Germany.

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

The peace treaty that formally ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers after World War I.

Randolph Bourne (1886–1918)

An American writer and intellectual who criticized American nationalism, militarism, and the pressure to conform during World War I.

Red Scare (1919–1920)

A period of widespread fear of communism, anarchism, and radical political movements in the United States after World War I.

Great African-American Migration

The movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to Northern, Midwestern, and Western cities, beginning around 1910 and continuing for decades.

Harlem Renaissance (1920s–1930s)

A flowering of African-American literature, music, art, and intellectual life centered in Harlem, New York City.

Espionage Act (1917)

A federal law that criminalized certain actions intended to interfere with military operations, recruitment, or national security during wartime.

Sedition Act (1918)

An amendment to the Espionage Act that made certain forms of disloyal, abusive, or critical speech about the U.S. government, Constitution, flag, and military punishable during wartime.

James T. Scott (c. 1885–1923)

A Black University of Missouri janitor who was lynched by a white mob in Columbia, Missouri, in April 1923 before he could receive a trial.

Buying on Margin

Purchasing stocks with borrowed money, using the stock itself as collateral for the loan.

Black Tuesday (October 29, 1929)

The day of massive stock selling during the 1929 stock market crash where prices collapsed and wiped out substantial wealth.

Dust Bowl (1930s)

A series of severe dust storms and agricultural disasters that devastated parts of the Great Plains during the 1930s.

Bonus Expeditionary Force

A group of World War I veterans who marched to Washington, D.C., in 1932 demanding early payment of bonuses promised to them for their military service.

First New Deal (1933–1934)

The first wave of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's programs to address the banking crisis, unemployment, and economic collapse.

Second New Deal (1935–1938)

A second phase of New Deal legislation that emphasized social welfare, labor rights, and economic security.

Social Security Act (1935)

A federal law that established a social insurance system, including retirement benefits and unemployment compensation, with additional aid programs for vulnerable groups.

Court Packing Plan (1937)

President Roosevelt's controversial proposal to add justices to the Supreme Court when sitting justices over age 70 did not retire, up to a maximum of six additional justices.

New Deal Coalition

A political alliance of urban workers, labor unions, immigrant communities, white Southerners, farmers, and African Americans that helped the Democratic Party dominate national politics beginning in the 1930s.

New Deal Consensus

A broad acceptance that the federal government should play a significant role in managing the economy and protecting people from severe economic hardship.

Glass-Steagall Act (1933)

A major banking reform law that separated commercial banking activities from investment banking and created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).