vocab7 b

Red Scare

A period of intense fear of communism and radical leftist ideologies in the U.S. after World War I, leading to widespread suspicion and government crackdowns on suspected radicals.

Palmer Raids

A series of government raids led by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer in 1919-1920 to arrest and deport suspected anarchists, communists, and radicals during the Red Scare.

Assembly Line

A manufacturing process in which products are assembled in a step-by-step sequence, improving efficiency and lowering costs; famously used by Henry Ford in automobile production.

Economic Prosperity

A period of financial growth and high employment, particularly during the 1920s when industries thrived and consumerism increased.

Modernists vs. Traditionalists

A cultural clash in the 1920s between modernists, who embraced new ideas, science, and social changes, and traditionalists, who favored maintaining long-established beliefs and customs.

Scopes Trial

A 1925 trial in which teacher John T. Scopes was prosecuted for teaching evolution in Tennessee, highlighting the conflict between science and religion in the U.S.

Sacco and Vanzetti

Two Italian immigrants and anarchists who were controversially convicted and executed for murder in 1927, symbolizing anti-immigrant and anti-radical sentiments in the U.S.

18th Amendment

The constitutional amendment passed in 1919 that prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages, leading to the Prohibition era.

Lost Generation

A term for a group of disillusioned American writers in the 1920s, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, who criticized materialism and the aftermath of World War I.

Harlem Renaissance

A cultural, artistic, and intellectual movement during the 1920s centered in Harlem, New York, celebrating African American achievements in literature, music, and art.

Teapot Dome

A major political scandal in the early 1920s in which government officials were bribed to lease oil-rich land to private companies, exposing corruption in the Harding administration.

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929, the day the stock market crashed, marking the beginning of the Great Depression as stock prices plummeted and investors lost billions.

Overproduction

A key cause of the Great Depression, where businesses produced more goods than could be sold, leading to falling prices, layoffs, and economic collapse.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff

A 1930 law that raised U.S. tariffs on imported goods to protect American industries but worsened the Great Depression by reducing international trade.

Bonus March

A 1932 protest in which thousands of World War I veterans marched to Washington, D.C., demanding early payment of promised bonuses, but were forcibly removed by the military.

New Deal

A series of government programs and reforms introduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s to combat the Great Depression by creating jobs and economic relief.

Fireside Chats

Radio addresses by FDR to the American public during the Great Depression, aimed at explaining policies and reassuring citizens.

Public Works Administration (PWA)

A New Deal agency that funded large-scale construction projects such as roads, bridges, and schools to create jobs and boost the economy.

Emergency Banking Relief Act

A 1933 law that aimed to stabilize the banking system by closing weak banks and providing government support to stronger ones.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

A government agency created during the New Deal to insure bank deposits, restoring public confidence in the banking system.

Social Security Act

A 1935 law that established a government pension system for retirees, unemployment insurance, and aid for disabled people and dependent children.

Court Reorganization Plan (‘Court-packing’)

FDR’s controversial 1937 proposal to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court to pass his New Deal policies, which was criticized as a power grab.

Dust Bowl

A severe drought and soil erosion crisis in the 1930s that devastated farms in the Great Plains, forcing many farmers to migrate west.

Okies

A term for farmers, especially from Oklahoma, who migrated to California and other states during the Dust Bowl seeking work.

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)

An international agreement in which nations pledged to avoid war as a means of resolving disputes, though it had little enforcement power.

Reparations

Payments that Germany was forced to make to Allied nations after World War I as punishment for the war, contributing to economic hardship.

Dawes Plan (1924)

A U.S.-backed plan to help Germany repay its World War I reparations by restructuring its debt and stabilizing its economy.

Fascism

A political ideology that promotes a centralized, authoritarian government, nationalism, and often militarism, seen in leaders like Mussolini and Hitler.

Isolationism

A U.S. foreign policy approach before World War II that sought to avoid involvement in international conflicts.

Appeasement

A policy of giving in to the demands of aggressive nations to avoid conflict, such as Britain and France allowing Hitler to take territory before WWII.

Blitzkrieg

A German military strategy during World War II that used fast, powerful attacks with tanks and planes to overwhelm enemies.

Quarantine Speech

A 1937 speech by FDR urging democratic nations to isolate aggressive countries to prevent the spread of war.

Lend-Lease Act

A 1941 law allowing the U.S. to provide military aid to Allies like Britain before officially entering World War II.

Atlantic Charter

A 1941 agreement between the U.S. and Britain outlining post-war goals, such as self-determination and free trade.

Pearl Harbor

A surprise Japanese attack on a U.S. naval base in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, leading the U.S. to enter World War II.

War Production Board

A government agency that coordinated industrial production during WWII to supply the military.

Manhattan Project

A secret U.S. program during WWII that developed the atomic bomb.

‘Double V’

A campaign by African Americans during WWII advocating for victory against fascism abroad and racial equality at home.

Braceros

Mexican laborers who worked in U.S. agriculture during WWII through a government program.

Internment Camps

Camps where Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated during WWII due to fears of espionage.

Korematsu v. United States

A 1944 Supreme Court case that upheld Japanese internment as a wartime necessity.

‘Rosie the Riveter’

A symbol of American women who worked in factories during WWII.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

A U.S. general who led Allied forces in Europe during WWII and later became President.

D-Day

The June 6, 1944, Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France.

Hiroshima & Nagasaki

Japanese cities where the U.S. dropped atomic bombs in 1945, leading to Japan’s surrender.

United Nations

An international organization founded in 1945 to promote peace and cooperation worldwide.