US History II Honors/Concurrent Final Study Guide

Flashcards covering key terms, historical events, and economic policies from the 1920s through the Cold War based on the lecture notes.

Stock Market Crash

The event that occurred on October $29$, $1929$, signaling the start of a major economic decline.

RIFC (Reconstruction Finance Corporation)

A government organization created to provide credit to banks, railroads, insurance companies, and other businesses.

Scopes Monkey Trial

A $1920s$ legal case representing the conflict between science (modernism) and religion (fundamentalism) regarding academic freedom.

Immigration Quota Act of $1924$

An act intended to limit the number of immigrants, protect national homogeneity, and prevent Asians from immigrating to the US.

Dust Bowl

A geographic area most closely associated with southern states including Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado.

$18\text{th}$ Amendment

The constitutional amendment that established the prohibition of alcohol, banning its manufacturing, sale, and transportation.

Laissez-faire (lassie fair)

An economic approach where business activities are left to cause a trickle-down effect to close the economic gap.

FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)

A corporation designed to provide protection to individual depositors by guaranteeing accounts up to $5,000$ dollars in case of bank failure.

SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)

An agency created to regulate stock exchanges and brokers by requiring full financial disclosure.

Communism

A system where the state controls the means of production, including land, labor, and capital.

Totalitarianism

A government system with total control over people using censorship, propaganda, and secret police to suppress opposition.

Mein Kampf

A book written by Hitler outlining his ideology of socialism and his plans against the Jewish people.

Anti-semitism

A term for hatred or prejudice directed against Jewish people.

Kristallnacht

An event where Nazi forces entered Jewish towns and broke the windows of Jewish-owned businesses.

December $7$, $1941$

The date on which Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

Appeasement

A policy aimed at bringing together an agreement to cut off further problems.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The two Japanese cities where the atomic bombs Little Boy and Fat Man were dropped in August $1945$.

Dixiecrats

Southern Democrats who walked out of an assembly due to the mention of banning slavery.

Baby Boom

A period between $1946$ and $1964$ where people moved to the suburbs and birth rates increased significantly.

Containment

A foreign policy intended to keep communism in one place and prevent its spread.

Cold War

A decades-long struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union over issues of communism versus capitalism.

Truman Doctrine

A foreign policy providing American aid to prevent communist takeovers where they threatened to expand.

Marshall Plan

A program providing money and resources to democratic countries in Western Europe to prevent hunger and chaos after WWII.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)

A committee created in $1938$ to find communist spies and activities, frequently focusing on Hollywood.

McCarthyism

The practice of using the fear of communism for personal gain, characterized by hysteria and witch hunts.

Eisenhower Doctrine

A policy promising military or economic aid to any Middle Eastern country resisting communist aggression.

Suburb

An area located outside of an urban center but not categorized as rural.

Interstate Highway Act

A development that allowed for fast transportation of goods and people, providing the freedom to travel coast to coast.

Consumerism

The economic belief that buying and consuming material goods is the primary goal for happiness and success.

Operation Rolling Thunder

A systematic and carpet bombing offensive that began on March $2$, $1965$ during the Vietnam War.

Vietnamization

A policy introduced by President Nixon to end American military involvement in Vietnam.