APUSH Period 7 (1890-1945): Final Review (Key Concepts and Events)

Abrams v. United States

1919 Supreme Court ruling limiting free speech by sustaining a guilty verdict of five anarchists who distributed leaflets denouncing the U.S. military efforts to overthrow the Bolshevik regime

Adamson Act

1916 act establishing an eight-hour workday and overtime for workers in private industry — in this case, railroad workers

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

1933 New Deal act that raised priced for farm produce by paying farmers subsidies to reduce production. Large farmers reaped most of the benefits from the act. It was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1936

Agricultural Marketing Act

Pre-Depression, Hoover-era policy establishing the Federal Farm Board to help farmers stabilize prices by loaning money to agricultural cooperatives and purchasing surpluses

Allies (WWI)

Political allies during World War I consisting primarily of Great Britain, France, and Russia. Italy joined in 1915 and the United States in 1917

America First Committee

Isolationist organization founded by Senator Gerald Nye in 1940 to keep the United States out of World War II

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Organization founded in 1920 to defend the constitutional rights and liberties of all people in the U.S., famously intervening during the Red Scare and Scopes Trial to protect free speech

American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)

U.S. Armed Forces sent to Europe in 1917–1918 to fight in World War I, commanded by General John J. Pershing

American Plan

1920s anti-union strategy pursued by U.S. employers and organizations like the NAM to promote "open shops" where union membership was not required

American Protective League (APL)

Volunteer organization, sponsored by the U.S. Justice Department, of private citizens who acted as vigilantes to enforce patriotism, spy on suspected German sympathizers, and suppress dissent

Anti-Imperialist League

An organization founded in 1898 to oppose annexation of the Philippines. Some feared the annexation would bring competition from cheap labor; others considered Filipinos racially inferior and the Philippines unsuitable as an American territory

Appeasement

The policy of England and France that allowed the Nazis to annex Czechoslovak territory in exchange for Hitler promising not to take further land — a pledge he soon violated

Atlantic Charter

Pivotal August 1941 joint declaration by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill outlining shared Allied war aims and a vision for the post-WWII world

Attack on Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on the US Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. This surprise air and naval assault killed more than 2,400 Americans, seriously damaged ships and aircraft, and abruptly ended isolatiolationism by prompting US entry into World War II

Battle of the Bulge

The final major German offensive on the Western Front during WWII, launched through the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. Named for the "bulge" created in Allied lines, it was the largest battle for the U.S. Army, resulting in a decisive Allied victory that crippled Germany’s remaining offensive capabilities

Battle of Iwo Jima

World War II amphibious assault where U.S. Marines captured a strategic volcanic island from Japanese forces

Battle of Midway Island

Naval battle in the Pacific Theater of WWII where the U.S. Navy inflicted irreparable damage on the Japanese fleet

Battle of Okinawa

Last major battle of World War II and the bloodiest in the Pacific Theater, known as "Operation Iceberg"

“Big stick” deplomacy

Aggressive foreign diplomacy backed by the threat of force. Its name comes from a proverb quoted by Theodore Roosevelt: “Speak softly and carry a big stick”

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929 crash of the U.S. stock market. This event has historically marked the beginning of the Great Depression, though it was not the depression’s root cause

Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Forcing Japan’s unconditional surrender and ending WWII. Ordered by President Truman to avoid a costly mainland invasion, the attacks killed 150,000–246,000+ civilians

Bonus Army

World War I veterans who marched on Washington, D.C. in 1932 to demand immediate payment of their service bonuses. President Hoover refused to negotiate and instructed the US Army to clear the capital of protesters, leading to a violent crash

Bully pulpit

Term used by Theodore Roosevelt to describe the office of the presidency. Roosevelt believed that the president should use his office as a platform to promote his programs and rally public opinion

Bureau of Investigation

Domestic investigative branch of the U.S. department of Justice originally headed by J. Edgar Hoover. The organization was later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Central Powers

Political allies during World War I consisting primarily of Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire

Civic housekeeping

Concept promoted by reformers like Jane Addams, advocating that women extend their domestic roles into the public sphere to improve society

Civil Works Administration (CWA)

Short-lived, federally funded New Deal program established by FDR in November 1933 to rapidly create manual labor jobs for over 4 million unemployed Americans during the Great Depression

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

New Deal work program that hired young, unmarried men to work on conservation projects. It employed about 2.5 million men and lasted until 1942

Clayton Antitrust Act

1914 act that strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act by banning certain corporate operations, such as price discrimination and overlapping membership on company boards, and by protecting labor unions. The Act was designed to encourage economic competition

Committee on Public Information (CPI)

U.S. government propaganda agency established by President Wilson in April 1917 to rally public support for World War I

Communism

20th-century political and economic ideology advocating a classless society with public ownership of production, directly opposing capitalism

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

U.S. civil rights organization founded in 1942 by James Farmer and others to combat racial segregation through nonviolent direct action

Conservationism

Progressive Era political and social movement whose supporters worked for the preservation of America’s wildlife and natural lands

Court-packing plan

1937 proposal by Franklin Roosevelt to increase the size of the Supreme Court and reduce its opposition to New Deal legislation. Congress failed to pass the measure, and the scheme undermined Roosevelt’s popular support

Cuba Libre

1898 battle cry and movement for Cuban independence from Spanish rule, heavily supported by American expansionists. It drove U.S. involvement in the Spanish-American War, ultimately resulting in Cuba's nominal independence

D Day

June 6, 1944 invasion of German-occupied France by Allied forces. The D Day landings opened up a second front in Europe and marked a major turning point in World War II

Department of Commerce and Labor

Created by Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 to regulate big businesses involved in interstate commerce, investigate corporations, and oversee domestic economic affairs

Dollar diplomacy

Term used by President Howard Taft to describe the economic focus of his foreign policy. Taft hoped to use economic policies and the control of foreign assets by American companies to influence Latin American nations

Double V

The slogan African Americans used during World War II to state their twin aims to fight for victory over fascism abroad and victory over racism at home

Dust Bowl

Name for the southern plains of the United States during the Great Depression when the region experienced massive dust storms due to social erosion caused by poor farming practices and drought

Eighteenth Amendment

1918 amendment to the Constitution banning the production and sale of alcoholic beverages. It was repealed in 1933 with the Twenty-First Amendment

Elkins Act

1903 act outlawing railroad rebates. The act was designed to protect smaller businesses and shippers who were paying higher rates than large favored customers, such as Standard Oil

Emergency Banking Act

1933 New Deal executive order that shut down banks for several days to calm widespread panic during the Great Depression

Espionage Act

1917 act that prohibited antiwar activities, including opposing the military draft, it punished speech critical of the war as well as deliberate actions of sabotage and spying

Eugenics

The pseudoscience of producing genetic improvement in the human population through selective breeding. Supporters of eugenics often saw ethnic and racial minorities as genetically “undesirable” and inferior

Executive Order 9066

Authorized the U.S. military to remove, evacuate, and incarcerate over 120,000 Japanese-Americans from the West Coast into inland detention camps

Fair Labor Standards Act

1938 law that provided a minimum wage og 40 cents an hour and a forty-hour workweek for employees in business engaged in interstate commerce

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

Created to restore public trust in the banking system during the Great Depression

Feminist

Someone who believes the women should have access to the same opportunities as men

Food Administration

World War I federal agency led by Herbert Hoover that managed the production, distribution, and conservation of food to support the U.S. military and Allied forces

Fourteen Points

The core principles President Woodrow Wilson saw as the basis for lasting peace, including freedom of the seas, open diplomacy, the establishment of the League of Nations, and the right to self-determination

Fuel Administration

World War I-era U.S. government agency established under the Lever Act to manage coal and oil production, distribution, and consumption

Glass-Steagall Act

1933 New Deal legislation that allowed solvent banks to reopen and created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

Great Depression

Worldwide economic collapse caused by overproduction and financial speculation. It affected the United States from October of 1929 until the start of World War II in 1939

Great Migration

Population shift of more than 400,000 African Americans who left the South beginning in 1917-1918 and headed north and west to escape poverty and racial discrimination. During the 1920s another 800,000 black people left the South

Harlem Renaissance

The work of Harlem-based African American writers, artists, and musicians that flourished following World War I through the 1920s

Hawley-Smoot Act

Protectionist U.S. law signed by President Hoover that raised tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods to record-high levels. It was intended to protect farmers, but backfired horribly

Hay-Pauncefote Treaty

Agreement between the U.S. and Great Britain that gave the United States exclusive rights to build, control, and fortify a canal across Central America. It was crucial for Theodore Roosevelt’s construction of the Panama Canal

Hetch Hetchy valley

Conflict over whether to dam a scenic valley in Yosemite National Park to create a reservoir for San Francisco

Holocaust

The Nazi regime’s genocidal effort to eradicate Europe’s Jewish population during World War II, which resulted in the death of 6 million Jews and millions of other “undesirables” — Slavs, Poles, Gypsies, homosexuals, the physically and mentally disabled, and Communists

Hull House

The settlement house, based on Toynbee Hall in England, established by Jane Adams and Ellen Starr in Chicago in 1889. It served as a center of social reform and provided educational and social opportunities for working-class poor and immigrant women and their children

Indian Citizenship Act

Granted full U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans born within the United States. It was signed by President Calvin Coolidge, though many states continued to deny them voting rights until the 1960s

Indian Reorganization Act (IRA)

1934 act that ended the Dawes Act, authorized self-government for those living on reservations, extended tribal landholdings, and pledged to uphold native customs and language

Influenza pandemic

Worldwide flu pandemic, also known as the “Spanish Flu,” following the end of World War I. It ultimately killed an estimated 50 million individuals, including approximately 675,000 Americans

Internment

The relocation of persons seen as a threat to national security to isolated camps during World War II. Nearly all people of Japanese descent living on the West Coast were forced to sell or abandon their possessions and relocate to interment camps during the war

Island-hopping

This strategy, employed in the Pacific by the US in World War II, directed American and Allied forces to avoid heavily fortified Japanese islands and concentrate on less heavily defended islands in preparation for a combined air, land, and sea invasion of Japan

Isolationism

Informal policy stemming from the belief that the United States should not become involved with the affairs of other nations. This mindset was especially popular following World War I

Jingoists

Extremely patriotic supporters of the expansion and use of military power. Jingoists such as Theodore Roosevelt longed for a war in which they could demonstrate America’s strength and prove their own masculinity

The Jungle

1906 muckraking novel by Upton Sinclair that portrayed the poor working and living conditions in the Chicago meatpacking district, as well as the unsanitary practices in the unregulated meat production industry, leading to a widespread call for government regulation of food safety

Keating-Owen Act

1916 act preventing the interstate sale of goods made by children under the age of 14, among other protections for children. The Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in 1918

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Arms control agreement that outlawed war as an instrument of national policy following World War I. The policy proved unenforceable

League of Nations

The international organization proposed by Woodrow Wilson after the end of World War I to ensure word peace and security in the future through mutual agreement. The United States failed to join the league because Wilson and his opponents in Congress could not work out a compromise

League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)

Oldest and largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the U.S.. Formed by Mexican American veterans to combat discrimination

Lend-Lease Act

March 1941 law permitting the United States to lend of lease military equipment and other commodities to Great Britain and its allies. Its passage marked the end of American neutrality before the US entered World War II

Lost Generation

Term coined by the writer Gertrude Stein to describe the writers and artists disillusioned with the consumer culture of the 1920s

Lusitania

British passenger liner struck by German submarine torpedoes off the coast of Ireland on May 15, 1915. The U-boat’s torpedoes sank the ship, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans

Manhattan Project

Code name for the secret program to develop an atomic bomb. The project was launched in 1942 and directed by the United States with the assistance of Great Britain and Canada

Mann Act

Also known as the White Slave Trade Act, the Mann Act was passed in 1910 and banned the transportation of women across state lines from immoral purposes. In practice, this legislation was used to enforce codes of racial segregation and standards of moral behavior that enforced traditional social roles for women

Meat Inspection Act

Signed by Theodore Roosevelt that mandated federal inspection of meatpacking plants, ensuring sanitary conditions and prohibiting adulterated or misbranded meat from interstate commerce

Mexican Revolution

Decade-long, violent uprising that overthrew dictator Porfirio Díaz to address massive social inequality, land reform, and political corruption

Military-industrial complex

The government-business alliance related to the military and national defense that developed out of World War II and greatly influenced future development of the US economy

Muckrakers

Investigative journalists during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who specialized in exposing corruption, scandal, and vice. Muckrakers helped build public support for progressive clauses

Muller v. Oregon

1908 Supreme Court ruling that upheld an Oregon law establishing a ten-hour workday for women

Munich Accord

Settlement between Germany, Britain, France, and Italy permitting Nazi Germany to annex Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland

National American Woman Suffrage Association

A national organization created in 1890 that contributed to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1919, which guaranteed women’s rights to vote in the United States

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Organization founded by W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Jane Adams, and others in 1909 to fight for racial equality. The NAACP strategy focused on fighting discrimination through the courts

National Association of Colored Women (NACW)

Organization that became the largest federation of black local women’s clubs in 1896. The group was designed to relieve suffering among poor black people, defend black women, and promote the interests of all black people

National Industrial Recovery Act

Aimed at combating the Great Depression by regulating industry for fair wages, prices, and working conditions

National Labor Relations Act

1935 act (also known as the Wagner Act) that created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Protected workers’ right to organize labor unions without business owner interference

National Origins Act

1924 act establishing immigration quotas by national origin. It was intended to severely limit immigration from southern and eastern Europe as well as halt all immigration from East Asia

National Recovery Administration (NRA)

Cornerstone 1933 New Deal agency created by the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) to promote economic recovery during the Great Depression

National War Labor Board (NWLB)

Federal agency established during both World War I and World War II to arbitrate disputes between labor and management, ensuring maximum production by preventing strikes and lockouts

National Woman’s Party

Militant suffrage organization led by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, ultimately pushing for the federal 19th Amendment for women's right to vote

Nazism

Totalitarian ideology of Hitler’s NSDAP in 1930s-40s Germany, characterized by extreme nationalism, intense antisemitism, and pseudo-scientific racial hierarchy

Neutrality Acts

Legislation passed between 1935 and 1937 to make it more difficult for the United States to become entangled in overseas conflicts. The Neutrality Acts reflected the strength of isolationist sentiment in 1930s America

New Deal

The policies and programs that Franklin Roosevelt initiated to combat the Great Depression. The New Deal represented a dramatic expansion of the role of government in American society

New Freedom

Term used by Woodrow Wilson to describe his limited-government, progressive agenda. Wilson’s New Freedom was offered as an alternative to Theodore Roosevelt’s New Nationalism

New Nationalism

Agenda put forward by Theodore Roosevelt in his 1912 presidential campaign. Roosevelt called for increased regulation of large corporations, a more active role for the president, and the extension of social justice using the power of the federal government

New Negro

1920s term for the second generation of African Americans born after emancipation and who stood up for their rights