History and Politics Practice Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering major US history events, political figures, and social movements from the late 19th century through the early 21st century.

Hubert H. Humphrey

The Democratic nominee in 1968 who lost narrowly to Richard Nixon.

The Three R’s

The core components of the New Deal: Relief, Recovery, and Reform.

The Abortion Issue

A new social issue that helped many people join conservatives in the 1970s.

George McGovern

The Democratic nominee in 1972 who lost in a landslide.

Harry Hopkins

A social worker and key advisor to Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Warren G. Harding

The president elected in 1920 who promised a return to “normalcy.”

Winston Churchill

The British Prime Minister who led Britain during most of World War II.

George Wallace

The politician who ran for president as a segregationist candidate in 1968.

Nikita Khrushchev

The Soviet leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis and other key Cold War events.

Bob Dole

The Kansas politician who ran for president in 1960.

Korean War Outcome

The conflict ended in a stalemate with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Compassionate Conservatism

The campaign theme of George W. Bush during the 2000 election.

Bill Clinton’s Impeachment Charges

The legal charges brought against the president, which included perjury and obstruction of justice.

Marijuana

The most popular illegal drug of the 1960s–70s counterculture.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

The U.S. general, born in Denison, Texas and raised in Kansas, who became president.

Fireside Chats

The radio addresses given by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the only president elected four times.

Herbert Hoover

The president blamed most for the onset of the Great Depression.

Calvin Coolidge

The president associated with the economic prosperity of the 1920s.

The Dust Bowl

The region of the southern Great Plains, including Oklahoma, hardest hit by the 1930s drought.

Blitzkrieg

A term meaning “lightning war” used to describe the military strategy used in the invasion of Poland.

Watergate Affair

A break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and the subsequent Nixon administration cover-up.

Jimmy Carter

The 1976 presidential candidate characterized as a born-again Christian and a political outsider.

Ted Kennedy

The politician who challenged Jimmy Carter for the 1980 Democratic nomination.

Alger Hiss

The individual targeted in HUAC investigations that involved Richard Nixon.

Camp David Accords

Regarded as Jimmy Carter’s greatest foreign policy success.

Iran Hostage Crisis

Jimmy Carter’s greatest foreign policy failure, involving American embassy staff held in Iran.

Rosie the Riveter

A symbol of women working in factories during World War II.

Balkans Conflict

Violence in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Yugoslavia caused by the fall of communism and ethnic and religious divisions.

Florida

The state that was crucial to the outcome of the 2000 presidential election recount.

Joe Lieberman

The running mate chosen by Al Gore in the year 2000.

Bill Clinton

The candidate elected to the presidency in both 1992 and 1996.

Egypt

The first Arab nation to officially recognize the state of Israel.

Spiro Agnew

The first U.S. vice president to resign from office due to criminal charges.

Anti-war Movement

A major youth-led movement prominent in the 1960s and 1970s.

Huey P. Long

The politician who promoted the redistributive “Share Our Wealth” program.

Charles Coughlin

A Catholic priest who was a prominent critic of capitalism during the Great Depression.

Bonus Army

World War I veterans who gathered to demand early payment of promised bonuses.

Bank Holiday

The first major action taken by Franklin D. Roosevelt upon becoming president.

Francis Townsend

A critic of the New Deal who proposed a pension plan funded by a national sales tax.

John Maynard Keynes

The economist whose theories influenced the economic policy of the New Deal.

Gerald Ford

The individual who became vice president following the resignation of Spiro Agnew.

Jim Brady

The individual who was shot during the attempt to assassinate Ronald Reagan.

Appeasement

Neville Chamberlain’s policy of making concessions to Hitler to avoid conflict.

Andrew Carnegie

The powerful industrialist who eventually gave away the majority of his wealth.

The Jungle

The book by Upton Sinclair that led to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act.

Samuel Gompers

The founder of the American Federation of Labor.

Terence V. Powderly

The leader of the Knights of Labor.

John Mitchell

The leader of the United Mine Workers.

Vertical Integration

A business strategy involving the control of all stages of production from raw materials to final sale.

Robber Barons

A derogatory term for powerful industrialists criticized for unethical business practices.

Commodore George Dewey

The naval commander who won the Battle of Manila Bay.

Rough Riders

The volunteer cavalry unit led by Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War.

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized and exaggerated news reporting intended to attract readers.

Muckrakers

Journalists such as Upton Sinclair who exposed corruption and social ills.

Injunction

A court order used to legally require a party to stop a specific action.

W.E.B. Du Bois

The co-founder of the NAACP who advocated for immediate equality for African Americans.

Booker T. Washington

The author of the book Up From Slavery.

Plessy v. Ferguson

A Supreme Court case that established the “separate but equal” legal doctrine.

Pearl Harbor

The Japanese attack that officially brought the United States into World War II.

Mein Kampf

The document that outlined the core ideology of the Nazi party.

William McKinley

The winner of the 1896 presidential election.

Grover Cleveland

The only president to serve two non-consecutive terms in office.

James A. Garfield

The U.S. president who was assassinated in 1881.

“He kept us out of war”

The 1916 campaign slogan for Woodrow Wilson’s re-election.

Square Deal

The legislative and domestic policy program associated with Theodore Roosevelt.

Fair Deal

The domestic policy program proposed by Harry Truman.

Ho Chi Minh

The leader of the Vietnamese communist movement.

Douglas MacArthur

The American general who famously stated, “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.”

Theodore Roosevelt

The president who won the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Russo-Japanese War.