US History: Gilded Age to Modern America

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering major eras and events in American history from the Gilded Age through Modern America.

Gilded Age

A period between $1870$ and $1900$ characterized by rapid economic growth and monopolies, but hiding extreme poverty, inequality, and corruption beneath the surface.

Robber Baron

A title given to rich and powerful business leaders of the Gilded Age who used unfair and ruthless methods to attain wealth and crush competition.

Captain of Industry

Rich business leaders viewed as philanthropic for building businesses, creating jobs, and donating to schools, libraries, and charities.

Monopoly

A company or business that completely controls an industry or product with no real competition, allowing it to set its own prices.

Ellis Island

An immigration station in the New York Harbour where millions of immigrants were processed between $1892$ and $1954$.

Tenement

A crowded, poorly built apartment building in a city where many poor families lived, often characterized by disease and unhealthy conditions.

Separate but Equal

The legal idea that racial segregation was allowed as long as black and white facilities were equal, though it led to unequal treatment in reality.

Imperialism

When a stronger country gains control of a weaker country's land, government, and economy to gain power, resources, or new markets.

U.S.S. Maine

An American battleship that exploded and sank in Havana Harbor, Cuba, in $1898$, helping to spark the Spanish-American War.

Yellow Journalism

Exaggerated news stories intended to shock or excite the public and stretch the truth to sell more newspapers.

Panama Canal

A man-made waterway in Panama connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, increasing U.S. power and trade.

Roosevelt Corollary

An addition to the Monroe Doctrine by President Theodore Roosevelt stating the U.S. could act as a "police" power in Latin America.

Open Door Policy

A U.S. policy stating all countries should be allowed to trade equally with China without any single nation controlling all trade.

Boxer Rebellion

A $1900$ uprising in China where a group called "Boxers" tried to drive out foreign powers and Christian missionaries.

Platt Amendment

Rules added to Cuba's constitution giving the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and maintain a naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

Great White Fleet

A group of U.S. battleships painted white that sailed around the world from $1907$ to $1909$ to demonstrate American naval power.

Isolationism

A policy of avoiding involvement in the affairs or wars of other countries.

Zimmerman Telegram

A secret $1917$ message from Germany to Mexico proposing an alliance against the United States.

The Lusitania

A British passenger ship sunk by Germany in $1915$, which angered the American public.

Stalemate

A situation in war where neither side can win or move forward.

No Man’s Land

The dangerous area located between opposing trenches during warfare.

Selective Service Act

A $1917$ law that required men to register for the military draft.

Reparations

Payments that a defeated country must make to cover war damages.

Fourteen Points

President Woodrow Wilson's plan for peace following World War I.

League of Nations

An international organization created after WWI intended to help prevent future wars.

18th Amendment

The amendment that banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol in the United States.

19th Amendment

The amendment that granted women the right to vote.

Flapper

A young woman of the $1920\text{s}$ known for modern fashion and more independent behavior.

Red Scare

The fear that communists and radicals would spread their ideas within the United States.

Harlem Renaissance

A cultural movement in Harlem celebrating African American art, literature, and music.

Great Migration

The movement of many African Americans from the South to Northern cities for better opportunities and jobs.

Teapot Dome Scandal

A government scandal during the Harding administration involving the secret leasing of oil reserves for bribes.

Dust Bowl

A period of severe drought and dust storms on the Great Plains during the Great Depression.

FDIC

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which protects money in bank accounts.

Fireside Chat

Radio talks given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the American people.

New Deal

FDR's program to provide relief, recovery, and reform during the Great Depression.

Blitzkrieg

"Lightning war"; a fast military attack utilizing planes, tanks, and troops.

Lend-Lease Act of 1941

A law allowing the U.S. to send war supplies to allied nations.

Double V Campaign

A campaign calling for victory over fascism abroad and victory over racism at home.

D-Day

The date when Allied forces invaded Normandy, France, during WWII.

Island Hopping

A strategy used in the Pacific to capture key islands while skipping others.

Manhattan Project

The secret U.S. program responsible for the development of the atomic bomb.

Martin Luther King Jr.

A major civil rights leader who promoted nonviolent protests.

Brown v. Board of Education

The $1954$ Supreme Court case that ended legal school segregation.

Containment

The U.S. policy aimed at stopping the spread of communism.

Domino Theory

The belief that if one country fell to communism, nearby countries would also follow.

Bay of Pigs

A failed, U.S.-backed invasion of Cuba in $1961$.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A $1962$ confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union regarding missiles in Cuba.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an alliance between the U.S., Canada, and Western European nations.

Sputnik

The first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in $1957$.

Apollo 11

The $1969$ U.S. mission that succeeded in landing the first humans on the moon.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

A $1964$ measure giving President Johnson broader power to fight in Vietnam.

Vietnamization

President Nixon's policy of shifting the fighting in Vietnam over to South Vietnamese forces.

S.A.L.T.

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks; meetings between the U.S. and Soviet Union to limit nuclear weapons.

Watergate

A political scandal involving a break-in at Democratic headquarters and a cover-up leading to President Nixon's resignation.

Sandra Day O’Connor

The first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Al Qaeda

A terrorist organization responsible for the September $11$, $2001$ attacks.