APUSH UNIT 7 (1890-1945)

16th Amendment 1913

authorized Congress to levy a federal income tax without apportioning it among the states based on population.

17th Amendment 1913

established the direct election of U.S. Senators by popular vote.

18th Amendment 1920

It established a national ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of "intoxicating liquors”

19th Amendment

It guaranteed that the right to vote could not be denied based on sex, representing the largest single expansion of voting rights in American history.

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)

aimed to boost agricultural prices by paying farmers subsidies to reduce production and leave land fallow. It sought to stabilize the agricultural sector during the Great Depression by addressing overproduction.

American Expeditionary Forces

were the US armed forces sent to Europe in WWI (1917–1918), commanded by General John J. Pershing. The AEF’s arrival, fueled by the Selective Service Act, tipped the balance for the Allies, contributing to victory in the Meuse-Argonne offensive.

Big Stick Diplomacy

Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy based on "speaking softly but carrying a big stick"—negotiating peacefully while threatening military intervention. It focused on expanding US power and enforcing the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, positioning the US as an international police power in Latin America.

Braceros Program

was a wartime agreement between the U.S. and Mexico that imported millions of Mexican laborers to fill agricultural and industrial labor shortages during World War II

CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)

a 1933 New Deal "Relief" program providing jobs for young men (18–25) in environmental conservation. It hired 3 million+ to build infrastructure in national/state parks, plant trees, and perform flood control, reducing youth unemployment. Workers sent pay home, supporting families.

Cinema

emerged as a dominant form of mass entertainment, creating a homogenized national culture and influencing social values.

Clayton Anti-Trust Act

strengthened the 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act by precisely defining prohibited anti-competitive business practices. It specifically banned price discrimination, interlocking directorates, and tying agreements. Crucially, it exempted labor unions and farmers' organizations from prosecution, validating peaceful strikes

Closing of the Frontier

The 1890 Census declared the American Western frontier closed, as the nation was now settled. This event marked the end of an era, driving the US towards overseas expansion, imperialism, and a new "foreign frontier". Key factors included a desire for new markets, resources, and the Turner Thesis arguing this change forced new national development

Consumer culture

flourished in the 1920s, driven by mass production, installment buying, and advertising. Innovations like automobiles, radio, and household appliances redefined American life, creating a standardized, materialistic society. This era bridged Progressive Era reforms and the economic collapse of the Great Depression, fundamentally shifting social values

FDR’s Court Packing Scheme

was a failed legislative proposal to add up to six new justices to the Supreme Court. Aimed at overcoming judicial resistance to New Deal legislation, the plan would allow a new justice for every member over age 70. It was widely criticized as unconstitutional executive overreach

D-Day Invasion

was the massive Allied amphibious invasion of Normandy, France, commanded by General Eisenhower. It opened a second front against Nazi Germany in Western Europe, leading to the liberation of France and accelerating the German collapse.

Deficit Spending

A crucial part of Keynesian Economics, defined as the government policy of borrowing money to spend more than it collects in revenue, primarily used to stimulate the economy during the Great Depression

Dollar Diplomacy

William Howard Taft’s foreign policy aimed at furthering U.S. interests in Latin America and East Asia by substituting "dollars for bullets". It encouraged American bankers to invest in foreign economies to ensure stability, increase trade, and reduce the need for military intervention, acting as an alternative to Roosevelt's "Big Stick" policy.

The Emergency Quota Act of 1921

placed the first numerical caps on U.S. immigration, restricting annual arrivals from any country to 3% of that nationality’s population already residing in the U.S. per the 1910 Census. It targeted "new immigrants" from Eastern/Southern Europe.

Johnson-Reed Act/Immigration Act of 1924

was a nativist, racist law restricting immigration, setting quotas to 2% of each nationality based on the 1890 census. It severely limited Southern/Eastern Europeans and completely barred Asian immigration (Asiatic Barred Zone), favoring Northwestern Europeans to protect American "homogeneity".

Executive Order 9066

authorized military commanders to designate "exclusion zones," leading to the forced relocation and incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans (two-thirds U.S. citizens)

FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)

is a government agency that insured individual bank deposits to stop bank runs and restore public confidence in the financial system. As a "relief" and "reform" measure, it was created by the Glass-Steagall Act, separating commercial from investment banking.

The Glass-Steagall Act

aimed to stabilize the financial system after the 1929 stock market crash. It separated commercial banking from riskier investment banking, created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to guarantee customer deposits, and stopped banks from speculating with depositors' funds.

Federal Reserve Act of 1913

was established by Woodrow Wilson to serve as the U.S. central bank, regulating monetary policy, supervising banks, and providing financial stability. It created 12 regional banks, aiding economic flexibility.

Federal Trade Commission

was designed to regulate interstate commerce, prevent unfair business practices, and break up monopolies, strengthening government oversight of the economy alongside the Clayton Antitrust Act

GI Bill/Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944

a major post-WWII US government initiative providing educational benefits, low-interest mortgages, and vocational training to returning veterans. It fostered significant social mobility, boosted the economy, and fueled suburbanization by making college education and homeownership accessible to millions.

Great Depression

was a massive economic crisis driven by 1920s overproduction, risky "buying on margin" stock speculation, and the 1929 crash

Great Migration

was the mass movement of over 6 million African Americans from the rural South to Northern, Midwestern, and Western cities. Driven by industrial jobs during WWI (pull factor) and systemic Jim Crow segregation and violence (push factors), this demographic shift reshaped US urban culture, fostering the Harlem Renaissance.

Harlem Renaissance

was a vibrant flourishing of African American music, literature, and art centered in Harlem, NYC, stemming from the Great Migration. It fostered racial pride, challenged stereotypes, and laid foundations for the Civil Rights Movement through figures like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Louis Armstrong

Henry Ford’s Model T

revolutionized 1920s America by utilizing the moving assembly line (1913) to mass-produce affordable automobiles, changing personal mobility. The car cost dropped from over to under by 1924, making it accessible to working-class families and driving the growth of suburbs.

Holocaust

the state-sponsored murder of six million Jews and others by Nazi Germany, was revealed to Americans toward the end of World War II, confirming the brutality of fascism. This discovery solidified U.S. commitment to the war, which was seen as a moral fight for democracy.

Imperialism

the U.S. shifting from continental expansion to overseas imperialism, driven by economic desires for new markets, racial theories (Social Darwinism), and the closing of the frontier

Island Hopping

A successful U.S. military strategy in the Pacific during WWII aimed at defeating Japan by capturing strategic islands, bypassing heavily fortified ones, and building airfields to move closer to the Japanese mainland

Causes for U.S. entry into WWI

1. German unrestricted submarine warfare (ex. the sinking of the Lusitania).

2. The Zimmerman Telegram which proposed a German-Mexican alliance

3. Economic/trading ties with the Allied forces

4. Wilson’s mission to make the world safer for democracy (was fine being allied to Russians after the Russian revolution).

Causes for U.S. entry into WWII

1. Japanese bombing of a U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor (1914)

2. failure of appeasement

Cash and Carry

Allowed U.S. to sell war goods to belligerent nations if they paid cash and used their own ships for transport the goods.

Lend Lease Act

A replacement for the “Cash and Carry” policy allowing the U.S. to lend or lease war material to any nation whose defense was vital to U.S. security. It effectively ended U.S. neutrality in WWII.

Japanese Interment

was the forced relocation and incarceration of over 120,000 people of Japanese descent—most being American citizens—following the Pearl Harbor attack. Authorized by FDR’s Executive Order 9066, this action highlighted wartime hysteria and civil liberties violations.

Korematsu v. United States

the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the forced relocation and internment of Japanese Americans during WWII was constitutional, citing "military necessity" over civil rights.

Keynesian economics

efers to the economic theory adopted during the 1930s promoting government deficit spending to stimulate demand, combat the Great Depression, and "prime the pump". It marked a shift away from laissez-faire, defining the New Deal’s approach to economic recovery.

League of Nations

proposed by Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points after World War I, was an international organization designed to maintain global peace through diplomacy. It was an essential part of the Treaty of Versailles and it’s inclusion led to the treaty being turned down in the senate as Article X, requiring collective security could require the U.S. to send troops to aid member nations and that was seen as a violation of the congressional power to declare war.

U.S. becomes a Limited Welfare State

marking a shift where the federal government assumed direct responsibility for economic security and social welfare.

Lost Generation

o a group of U.S. writers and artists who came of age during World War I, experiencing deep disillusionment, loss of optimism, and alienation. Key figures like Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald highlighted the emotional devastation and moral questioning of the post-war era, rejecting 1920s consumerism and traditional societal norms.

Muckrakers

were Progressive Era (1890s–1920s) investigative journalists and photographers who exposed societal, political, and corporate corruption to spur reform. Their work, published in magazines like McClure's, directly influenced federal regulations—such as the Meat Inspection Act—and gained support from a reform-minded middle class.

Meat Inspection Act

andating strict federal sanitary standards for meat-packer industries and interstate shipping. Triggered by Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and muckraker reports, it exemplified consumer protection under Roosevelt's "Square Deal"

Moral Diplomacy

Woodrow Wilson’s foreign policy proposing that the U.S. base it's support on nations sharing democratic and ethical values.

National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)

It established the National Recovery Administration (NRA), which created industry codes for fair wages, maximum hours, and price regulation to stimulate economic recovery and stop destructive competition. Declared unconstitutional in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States

Environmental reform

• Conservationists (Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot) aimed to manage and protect natural resources for sustainable uses.

• Preservationists (John Muir/Sierra Club) aimed to entirely protect land from development.

• Newlands Reclamation Act: Authorized federal funds from public land sales to pay for irrigation and land development projects in the arid West.

• U.S. Forest Service: : Created under Gifford Pinchot to manage timber and water resources

• Antiquities Act: Enabled presidents to designate national monuments to protect areas of scientific or historical interest. (ex. National Parks)

The New Deal

launched by FDR to combat the Great Depression, marked a massive expansion of federal power through "Relief, Recovery, and Reform" programs. It shifted government policy toward Keynesian economics, providing direct relief and jobs, creating a limited welfare state, and establishing regulations to stabilize the economy, though it did not completely end the Depression.

Prohibition

(1920–1933) was a nationwide constitutional ban on the production, sale, and transport of alcoholic beverages initiated by the 18th Amendment. Spearheaded by Progressives, Protestants, and women's groups, it aimed to improve social conditions but led to increased organized crime and massive enforcement failures before being repealed by the 21st Amendment.

Pure Food and Drug Act 1906

the first federal law designed to protect consumers by prohibiting the sale of adulterated or misbranded food and drugs in interstate commerce. It mandated accurate labeling, required listing dangerous ingredients like cocaine and heroin, and created the agency that became the FDA

Radio

emerged as a revolutionary communication technology, fostering a unified national mass culture in the 1920s. It revolutionized entertainment and news, with networks like ABC and CBS broadcasting nationwide, alongside popularizing regional culture and boosting political engagement

Race Riots in Detroit, Tulsa, and Chicago

were major manifestations of racial tension driven by the Great Migration, industrial competition, and postwar social shifts. These events highlighted the violent opposition to African American spatial and economic mobility, marking a period of intense civil rights struggle and white backlash

First Red Scare

was a period of intense anti-communist, anti-radical, and anti-immigrant hysteria in the U.S. following the Russian Revolution. Fueled by labor strikes and fear of foreign radicals, it led to the Palmer Raids, civil liberty violations, nativism, and immigration restrictions.

Roaring Twenties

was a decade of economic boom, consumerism, and deep cultural conflict between modernism and tradition. The era featured high industrial productivity, the rise of mass media, and urban growth, alongside conservative "return to normalcy" politics, Prohibition, the Harlem Renaissance, and strict nativist immigration restrictions.

Scopes Monkey Trial

case symbolizing the cultural conflict between 1920s modernism and religious fundamentalism. Teacher John Scopes was convicted of violating the Butler Act, which banned teaching evolution, highlighting the clash between traditional Bible-based views and scientific theory.

Schenck v. United States

holding that the First Amendment does not protect speech creating a "clear and present danger" to national security, especially during wartime. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Espionage Act of 1917, limiting free speech during World War I.

Espionage Act of 1917

Goal: The primary objective was to crush anti-war sentiment, prevent obstruction of the military draft, and protect national secrets during the war effort.

• Imposed severe penalties including fines of up to 10,000 dollars and imprisonment for up to 20 years for interfering or dissenting against the War Effort.

Securities and Exchange Commission

a federal agency established to regulate the stock market, prevent fraud, and curb speculative practices that caused the 1929 crash.

Sinking of Lusitania

May 7, 1915, a German U-boat sank the British passenger liner off the Irish coast, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans.

Social Security Act

• Provisions:

  • Old-age pensions: Funded by payroll taxes on workers and employers.

  • Unemployment insurance: Compensation for laid-off workers.

  • Public Assistance: Aid for dependent mothers, children, the blind, and the disabled.

• Significance: It fundamentally changed the relationship between the U.S. government and its citizens by transforming the government into an active agent in economic security.

Causes of Spanish-American War

1. Yellow Journalism, including the story of the sinking of the USS Maine where Spain was blamed, which used sensationalized and exaggerated stories of Spanish atrocities to create public outcry for war.

2. U.S. investments in Cuban Sugarcane

3. U.S. sympathy for the Cuban independence movement

4. Jingoism: the desire to expand American influence in the Caribbean and Pacific

5. De Lôme Letter: A letter from the Spanish minister to the U.S., Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, criticized President McKinley, which, when published, further enraged the American public

Outcomes of the Spanish-American War

1. Treaty of Paris 1898: The U.S. became an imperial power through the acquisition of the Philippines (bought for 20 million dollars), Guam, Puerto Rico and Cuba as a protectorate.

2. Geopolitical Shift: The U.S. shifted from isolationism to a recognized global power, with increased economic and military interests in Asia (facilitated by the Open Door Policy and annexation of Hawaii).

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

, created in 1933 as part of FDR’s New Deal, was a federal corporation aimed at economic development, flood control, and rural electrification in the impoverished Tennessee Valley. It built dams, supplied electricity, and modernized the region, embodying the New Deal’s shift toward government-led infrastructure investment and relief.

The Three R’s

1. Relief (Immediate Action): Focused on providing immediate assistance to those suffering, including the unemployed, poor, and homeless. (CCC, FERA, WPA)

2. Recovery (Economic Restoration): Aimed at fixing the economy to get businesses running and people back to work, often characterized by temporary, short-term measures. (NIRA, AAA, TVA ).

3. Reform (Long-Term Structural Change): Designed to overhaul the financial system and provide a safety net to prevent a future economic catastrophe. (FDIC, SEC, Social Security Act)

Treaty of Versailles 1919

ended WWI, imposing harsh punitive measures on Germany—including the "war guilt clause" (), massive reparations, and territorial losses. Woodrow Wilson championed the League of Nations, but the U.S. Senate rejected the treaty, steering the nation toward isolationism in the 1920s.

Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle

as a premier example of muckraking journalism. It exposed appalling sanitary violations and harsh labor exploitation in Chicago's meatpacking industry, directly influencing the federal government to pass the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906.

Philippine-American War (1899-1902)

Filipinos, expecting independence after defeating Spain, instead faced American rule, leading to a bloody guerrilla war against U.S. troops. U.S. forces used harsh methods, including the burning of villages and concentration camps to break guerrilla resistance.

W.E.B. Du Bois and the Niagara Movement

was a radical, black-led organization demanding immediate political, civil, and social rights, rejecting Booker T. Washington’s accommodationist policies. It aimed to combat Jim Crow, inequality, and lynching, setting the stage for the interracial NAACP in 1909.

WPA (Works Progress Administration)

created in 1935 as part of FDR’s Second New Deal, was a massive federal relief program employing over 8 million people during the Great Depression

Public Works Administration (PWA)

was a major relief agency focused on long-term economic recovery. It spent over billion on massive public infrastructure projects—like bridges, dams, and schools—to create jobs, reduce unemployment, and boost consumer purchasing power.

Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Points

were a set of principles designed to end World War I, promote postwar peace, and prevent future conflicts. Key themes included self-determination for nations, free trade, open diplomacy (no secret treaties), and the creation of a League of Nations. It was meant to make the world "safe for democracy".

Women’s Suffrage Movement

peaked during the Progressive Era, driven by activists like Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt to achieve voting rights. This culminated in the 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting women national suffrage, largely fueled by women's contributions to the war effort and decades of grassroots campaigning. 

Zimmermann Telegram 1917

was a secret German proposal to Mexico, suggesting a military alliance against the United States if the U.S. entered World War I. Intercepted by Britain and published in March 1917, it promised Mexico the return of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, provoking U.S. public outrage and shifting foreign policy from neutrality toward declaring war.

Yellow Journalist

a style of late-19th-century newspaper reporting that sensationalized, exaggerated, or fabricated news to boost sales. Popularized by Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, it featured shocking headlines, illustrations, and sensational stories. It was key in pushing for the 1898 Spanish-American War