US History Final

Espionage and Sedition Act

Laws that limited free speech during wartime by punishing anti-government actions.

Louisiana Purchase

The 1803 acquisition of French territory that doubled the size of the U.S.

Monroe Doctrine

A U.S. policy opposing European interference in the Western Hemisphere.

Universal suffrage

The right of all citizens to vote, regardless of status.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln's 1863 order freeing slaves in Confederate states.

Gettysburg Address

Lincoln’s speech honoring fallen soldiers and redefining the war’s purpose.

Battle of Antietam

The bloodiest single-day battle; led to the Emancipation Proclamation.

Battle of Gettysburg

Turning point in favor of the Union.

Battle of Vicksburg

Gave the Union control of the Mississippi River.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery in the U.S.

Alexander Graham Bell

Inventor of the telephone.

Thomas Edison

Inventor of the light bulb and phonograph.

The Jungle

A novel by Upton Sinclair exposing the meatpacking industry.

Louis Pasteur

Developed pasteurization and germ theory.

Henry Ford

Developed assembly line and affordable cars (Model T).

John D. Rockefeller

Oil industry magnate and founder of Standard Oil.

Andrew Carnegie

Steel industry leader and philanthropist.

Spanish-American War

1898 conflict where the U.S. gained territories like the Philippines.

Roosevelt Corollary

U.S. can intervene in Latin America to stabilize economies.

Open Door Policy

Equal trading rights in China for all nations.

Dollar Diplomacy

U.S. using financial power to influence other countries.

Panama Canal

A canal built by the U.S. to connect the Atlantic and Pacific.

Lusitania

A British ship sunk by Germany; helped draw U.S. into WWI.

Harlem Renaissance

A cultural and artistic explosion of African American culture in the 1920s.

21st Amendment

Repealed Prohibition (18th Amendment).

18th Amendment

Banned alcohol (Prohibition).

Black Tuesday

The 1929 stock market crash that started the Great Depression.

Social Security Act

Created a safety net for the elderly, unemployed, and disabled.

New Deal

FDR’s programs to combat the Great Depression.

Dust Bowl

Severe dust storms in the Great Plains due to drought and poor farming.

FDIC

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; insures bank deposits.

Lend-Lease Act

U.S. gave supplies to Allies before entering WWII.

Manhattan Project

Secret project to develop atomic bombs.

Midway

A major U.S. naval victory in the Pacific.

Pearl Harbor

Japanese attack that brought U.S. into WWII.

Hiroshima

The first city destroyed by an atomic bomb.

Holocaust

Genocide of 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany.

Nuremberg Trials

Trials of Nazi leaders for war crimes.

Domino Theory

Belief that if one nation falls to communism, others will follow.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. support for countries resisting communism.

Joseph McCarthy

U.S. senator who led anti-communist investigations (McCarthyism).

Marshall Plan

U.S. aid to rebuild Europe after WWII.

JFK’s New Frontier

Kennedy’s domestic reform program.

Pentagon Papers

Secret documents revealing U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Johnson’s Great Society

Programs to fight poverty and promote civil rights.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil Rights leader advocating nonviolence.

Brown v. Board of Education

Supreme Court ruling that desegregated schools.

Watergate

Political scandal that led to Nixon’s resignation.

Henry Kissinger

Nixon’s Secretary of State; helped shape foreign policy.

Barry Goldwater

Conservative senator; influenced Reagan-era politics.

Title IX

Prohibits gender discrimination in education.

Roe v. Wade

Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

Richard Nixon

U.S. president who resigned after Watergate.

Silent Spring

Book by Rachel Carson that started the environmental movement.

NAFTA

North American Free Trade Agreement.

Reaganomics

Economic policies of Ronald Reagan focused on tax cuts and deregulation.

Cesar Chavez

Labor leader who fought for farmworkers' rights.