AP US History Chapters 23 & 24

Central Powers

WWI alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire.

Allied Powers

WWI alliance of Britain, France, and Russia (and later the US).

Wilsonianism

President Woodrow Wilson's ideological framework for foreign policy, emphasizing open markets, reduced armaments, and self-governance to ensure global stability.

International law

An unwritten honor code of customs and precedents governing relations among nations, specifically regarding maritime rules of engagement.

U-Boat

German submarines used to disrupt Allied shipping; their ability to strike undetected challenged traditional international laws regarding naval warnings.

Lusitania

A British passenger ship sunk by a German U-boat in 1915; the deaths of Americans on board created significant diplomatic tension.

Gore-McLemore (1916)

A failed Congressional act that would have banned US citizens from traveling on ships carrying contraband (war materials). Wilson opposed it, viewing it as a surrender of American rights.

Unrestricted submarine warfare (1917)

Germany's calculated risk to sink all ships in British waters regardless of nationality, gambling they could defeat Britain before the US could mobilize.

Zimmerman Telegram

A message from Germany to Mexico proposing an alliance against the US; its interception by the British was a primary catalyst for the US declaration of war.

Selective Service Act (1917)

Required men ages 18-40 to register for the draft. Resulted in 25 million registrations and 5 million active servicemen (15% of the labor force).

AEF (American Expeditionary Force)

The US military force in Europe; their arrival in 1918 provided the essential manpower and supplies needed to break the stalemate.

African Americans in WWI

Approximately 10% of the fighting force. Black leaders encouraged service in hopes that contributing to the war effort would gain leverage for full political rights (though major laws did not change until after WWII).

Total war

A conflict where the military attacks civilian populations; in WWI, it also refers to the mobilization of the entire domestic society to support the war effort.

Business-government cooperation

A shift from the adversarial Progressive Era; the government suspended Anti-Trust laws to ensure seamless military production.

Cost-plus contracts

Government agreements to pay companies the cost of production plus a guaranteed profit, incentivizing rapid manufacturing but leading to inflation and profiteering (taking advantage).

War Industries Board (WIB)

The central agency that coordinated the economy by standardizing production, setting prices, and bulk-purchasing raw materials.

National War Labor Board

A federal agency created to mediate labor disputes and prevent strikes. It forced employers to negotiate with unions, leading to a spike in union membership.

The Great Migration (1910-1970)

The mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to Northern and Western cities due to demand for industrial labor during WWI. It resulted in rapid growth of Black urban populations and increased racial tension over housing and public spaces.

Women's war roles

White women moved from clerical jobs into higher-level industrial/technical jobs, black women moved from domestic service into low-level clerical roles into higher-level industrial/technical jobs.

Committee on Public Information (CPI)

A government propaganda agency that mobilized public opinion through movies and posters; it promoted 100% Americanism and encouraged citizens to spy on "suspicious" neighbors.

Anti-German Hysteria

A wartime trend of intolerance involving the banning of the German language, burning of German books, and physical violence/lynching targeted at German-Americans.

Espionage Act (1917)

A law making it a crime to print or speak "false statements" intended to interfere with the draft or promote military insubordination.

Sedition Act (1918)

An extension of the Espionage Act that criminalized disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the government, flag, or military.

Eugene Debs

A prominent Socialist leader jailed under the Espionage Act for arguing that WWI was a class-based conflict that did not benefit the lower class.

Schenck v. US (1919)

Supreme Court case ruling that the Espionage Act was constitutional; established that free speech can be limited if it presents a clear and present danger, especially during wartime.

Abrams v. US (1919)

Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of the Sedition Act, further restricting culture and expression during wartime.

American Protective League

A private interest group that worked with the government to identify and suppress pacifists, radicals, and disloyal citizens.

Red Scare

A period of general fear of socialists and communists.

Bolshevik Revolution

The 1917 communist takeover in Russia that sparked American fear that a global worker uprising would spread to the US.

1919 Strike Wave

A period of 3,000 strikes that the public interpreted as evidence of a coming communist revolution.

Mayday Bombings (1919)

A series of mail bombs sent by anarchist Luigi Galleani to US leaders; though mostly unsuccessful, they fueled national hysteria.

A. Mitchell Palmer

The Attorney General who used the Red Scare to launch a crusade against radicals to further his own political aspirations.

J. Edgar Hoover

The first head of the Bureau of Investigations (FBI); he amassed massive files on suspected radicals and organizations to exert power.

Palmer Raids (1920)

Federal operations in 30+ cities where agents entered homes and offices without warrants, arresting thousands of suspected radicals and deny thing them legal counsel.

Aliens and Deportation

During the Red Scare, many non-citizen radicals were deported en masse, leading to the 1920s laws that strictly restricted European immigration based on the fear of radical ideologies.

Paris Peace Conference (1919)

The meeting of Allied leaders to set peace terms; Wilson attended personally to advocate for a more prosperous and stable world order.

14 Points

Wilson's idealistic plan for post-war peace, which included self-determination, freedom of the seas, and the creation of an international organization (League of Nations).

Treaty of Versailles

The final peace agreement between the Allies and Germany; it officially ended the war but left Wilsons struggling to convince the US to join his proposed international system.

League of Nations

Wilson's essential 14th point; an international organization designed to provide a forum for nations to negotiate disputes and enforce international law to avoid war.

1918 Midterm Elections

In a blow to Wilson, Republicans won the majority in the Senate. This is significant because the Senate holds the Constitutional power to ratify treaties.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

The specific committee responsible for reviewing all foreign treaties before a full Senate vote.

Henry Cabot Lodge

The Republican Chairperson of the Foreign Relations Committee and Wilson's primary political rival. Wilson snubbed Lodge by not including any Republicans in the peace delegation to Paris.

Reservationists

Senators, led by Lodge, who were willing to vote for the Treaty of Versailles only if specific changes were made to protect American sovereignty.

Collective security

The core concept of the League of Nations where member countries commit military resources to defend one another.

Article X

The most controversial part of the League's charter. It morally bound the US to aid any member victimized by external aggression.

Constitutional conflict

Critics argued Article X violated the US Constitution, which grants Congress the sole power to declare war. They feared the League would force American troops into foreign conflicts without Congressional approval.

Unilateralism

The traditional American foreign policy (traced back to Washington's Farewell Address) of staying out of permanent entanglements and maintaining the freedom to act alone.

Reconversion

The post-WWI transition from a wartime to a peacetime economy, initially marked by high inflation and unemployment before the boom of the 1920s

Laissez-Faire

The "hands-off" government approach to the economy, reminiscent of the Gilded Age, characterized by business-government cooperation

Oligopoly

An economic market structure where a few large companies dominate an industry (ie Ford, GM, and Chrysler in the automobile industry).

Fordney-McCumber Tariff (1922)

A high protective tariff that reflected the pro-business climate by protecting domestic industries from foreign competition.

Coronado Coal Company v. United Mine Workers (UMW) (1922)

A Supreme Court ruling that found unions could be prosecuted for restraint of trade, similar to how anti-trust laws were used against monopolies.

Open Shop

A workplace policy where employers can hire non-union workers.

Closed Shop

Hiring only union members, which was made illegal in many states during this time.

Welfare Capitalism

A strategy where companies provided benefits like pensions and social activities (company baseball games) to improve worker relations and undermine the appeal of unions.

Warren Harding (1921-1923)

Won on a slogan of "Return to Normalcy." His presidency was marred by corruption among his cabinet members.

Teapot Dome Scandal

The most famous Harding scandal involving Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall, who took bribes to lease government oil reserves in Wyoming to private companies.

Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)

Known as "Silent Cal," he famously stated, "The business of America is business," advocating for minimal government interference in the economy.

Andrew Mellon

The long-serving Secretary of the Treasury who pushed for low business taxes, high tariffs, and low interest rates to stimulate the boom.

Herbert Hoover

Served as Secretary of Commerce before becoming President in 1929; he represented the transition from the boom into the Great Depression.

19th Amendment (1920)

Guaranteed women the right to vote. Contrary to expectations, women did not vote as a bloc (unanimously) but joined existing parties based on their personal status.

Voting trends

Only about 50% of qualified female voters exercised the franchise in the 1920s; many remained focused on voluntary associations (orphans, birth control, immigrant aid).

Women in the workforce

Roughly 25% of women worked for pay, mostly in jobs like clerics, teaching, nursing, which paid significantly less than men's roles.

New consumerism

While the Cult of Domesticity remained, technology added a new role: women became the chief consumers of the household, managing new appliances and household goods.

Aging demographics

As more Americans lived past 65, poverty among the elderly became a major issue, leading to the early development of Social Security and retirement homes.

De Facto Segregation

In practice segregation found in the North, which was not enforced by law (like the South's Jim Crow) but by custom and neighborhood patterns.

Black Nationalism

A movement of racial pride and confidence stimulated by the Great Migration and concentrated urban living in the North.

UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association)

Led by Marcus Garvey, this organization promoted a separatist vision, urging Black Americans to build their own institutions and even consider returning to Africa.

Harlem Renaissance

A creative explosion of African American art, literature, and music centered in Harlem, NY. It was fueled by a newfound "racial consciousness" and pride.

The "New Negro"

An influential essay by Alain Locke arguing that African Americans should no longer defer to white mainstream culture but demand respect and celebrate their heritage.

Langston Hughes, Louis Armstrong, and Josephine Baker

Poet, jazz artist, and dancer who captured the spirit of the movement and broke barriers in their arts.

Nation of Islam (NOI)

A Black nationalist religious movement founded in Detroit/Chicago; it emphasized self-reliance and a rejection of white mainstream culture (later associated with figures like Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali).

Moorish Science Temple

An early 20th-century movement that preceded the NOI, focusing on Islamic pride and Black assertiveness.

Modern culture (urban and young)

Self-expression, individualism, consumerism values. Secular worldview, defined by science/personal experience Relativistic morality: decisions depend on the situation. Admired Freud and Darwin.

Traditional culture (rural and old)

Conventionalism, heritage, social stability values. Religious worldview, behavior guided by the Bible. Absolute morality: rigid right and wrong based on text. Found Freud and Darwin outrageous.

Flappers

Women who challenged norms (makeup, short hair, smoking/drinking).

Reactionarianism

A defensive opposition to social change, often manifesting as intense nativism, racism, and religious fundamentalism.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Resurgence

By 1925, membership peaked at 5 million. In the 1920s, the KKK was not just Southern; it dominated politics in states like Indiana and opposed Blacks, Catholics, Jews, and immigrants.

National Origins Act (1924/1927)

Laws designed to severely restrict immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe (ie Poland, Italy, Ukraine) due to fears of "radical" ideas like Communism. It was the first time that immigration from Europe was restricted.

Sacco and Vanzetti Case (1921-1927)

Two Italian anarchist immigrants convicted of murder and executed despite limited evidence. Many saw this as a "judicial murder" based on their immigrant status and radical beliefs rather than guilt.

Butler Act (1925)

Tennessee passed a law banning the teaching of evolution in public schools (a win for Christian Fundamentalists).

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Organization that sought a teacher to challenge the law to bring national attention to the issue of free speech and science.

John Scopes

A biology teacher in Dayton, TN, who agreed to be arrested for teaching Darwinism.

Scopes Monkey Trial (1925)

Clarence Darrow was representing modernism and William Jennings Bryan was representing tradition. Found Scopes guilty and fined him, but the trial was a moral victory for modernists.

Great Gatsby and Babbit

Scott Fitzgerald critiqued modern urban/flapper culture, while Sinclair Lewis critiqued traditional/conventional culture, showing the difference in sentiments.

William Faulkner

A pioneer of narrative experimentation, known for conscious writing. Sparked interest.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Architect who broke traditional forms to create modern structures.

Urbanization

The 1920 Census was the first to show that 50.1% of Americans lived in urban areas.

Stock Market Crash (1929)

A period of panicked selling triggered by Wall Street investors' realization that stock shares were overvalued.

Buying on margin

A risky practice where investors borrowed money from brokers to buy more stock than they could afford. The brokers, in turn, borrowed from banks.

Margin Call

When stock prices dropped, investors couldn't pay brokers, and brokers couldn't pay banks, leading to a massive wave of bad loans and bank failures.

Contraction of credit

Occurs when banks stop lending because they have too many bad loans. This starves the economy of the capital needed to start or maintain businesses.

Overproduction

Factories and farms produced more goods than people could buy, causing prices to collapse.

Underconsumption

A lack of discretionary income (money left after essentials like food) meant the public couldn't sustain the growth of nonessential industries like cars and appliances.

Income tax rates

The wealthy kept most of the capital; the government could not redistribute wealth to create a broader base of consumers with discretionary income.

Low interest rates

The Federal Reserve Board kept rates low for too long, encouraging reckless borrowing and making it harder for banks to scrutinize the quality of loans.

International causes

US banks loaned money to Germany to pay reparations to Britain and France. US showed more interest in the Stock Market, which crashed German economy, slowed European recovery, and killed the market for US exports.

High protective tariffs

Made it harder for Europeans to sell goods in the US.

Weak regulation

Laissez-faire approach meant that there was no oversight of stock brokers or banks, leading to the reckless use of capital.

Hoover's American System

Hoover didn't want the government to regulate, but he also didn't want it to do nothing. He hosted conventions of businesses in the same industry to help each other.