Period 7: Bolded Terms

Period 7: 1890-45

Abrams v. United States

1919 Supreme Court ruling limiting free speech by sustaining a guilty verdict of five anarchists who distributed leaflets denouncing U.S. military efforts to overthrow the Bolshevik regime.

Adamson Act

1916 act establishing an eight-hour workday and overtime for workers in private industry — in this case, railroad workers.

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

1933 New Deal act that raised prices for farm produce by paying farmers subsidies to reduce production. Large farmers reaped most of the benefits from the act. It was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1936.

Agricultural Marketing Act

1929 act aimed at raising prices for goods created by farmers to alleviate their financial suffering.

Allies (WWI)

Political allies during World War I consisting primarily of Great Britain, France, and Russia. Italy joined in 1915 and the United States in 1917.

America First Committee

Isolationist organization founded by Senator Gerald Nye in 1940 to keep the United States out of World War II.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Founded as the National Civil Liberties Bureau in 1917, the ACLU (renamed in 1920) defends civil liberties through civil litigation. The ACLU was the first such organization to defend civil liberties for all individuals, rather than specific groups.

American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)

Established in 1917 after the United States entered World War I. These army troops served in Europe under the command of General John J. Pershing.

American Plan

Voluntary program initiated by businesses in the early twentieth century to protect worker welfare. The American Plan was meant to undermine the appeal of labor unions.

American Protective League (APL)

An organization of private citizens that cooperated with the Justice Department and the Bureau of Investigation during World War I to spy on German residents suspected of disloyal behavior.

Anti-Imperialist League

An organization founded in 1898 to oppose annexation of the Philippines. Some feared the annexation would bring competition from cheap labor; others considered Filipinos racially inferior and the Philippines unsuitable as an American territory.

appeasement

The policy of England and France that allowed the Nazis to annex Czechoslovak territory in exchange for Hitler promising not to take further land — a pledge he soon violated.

Atlantic Charter

August 1941 agreement between Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill that outlined potential war aims and cemented the relationship between the United States and Britain.

attack on Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. This surprise air and naval assault killed more than 2,400 Americans, seriously damaged ships and aircraft, and abruptly ended isolationism by prompting U.S. entry into World War II.

Battle of the Bulge

Last German offensive launched in mid-December of 1944, which resulted in a German retreat across the Rhine River back into Germany.

Battle of Iwo Jima

March 1945 battle in which the U.S. captured Iwo Jima, a heavily fortified Japanese island.

Battle of Midway Island

First engagement between Japanese and U.S. Navy six months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in June of 1942. The battle resulted in a U.S. victory.

Battle of Okinawa

The last major battle and amphibious assault in the Pacific theater of World War II. It was one of the costliest battles of the war for the U.S., resulting in 6,000 American casualties.

"big stick" diplomacy

Aggressive foreign diplomacy backed by the threat of force. Its name comes from a proverb quoted by Theodore Roosevelt: "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929 crash of the U.S. stock market. This event has historically marked the beginning of the Great Depression, though it was not the depression's root cause.

bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Atomic bombs dropped by the U.S. on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and Nagasaki on August 9. The Hiroshima bomb immediately killed 70,000-80,000 civilians. The Nagasaki explosion immediately killed 100,000 civilians. Many survivors of these bombings later developed health issues due to the radiation exposure. Five days after the second bomb was dropped, Japan announced its surrender.

Bonus Army

World War I veterans who marched on Washington, D.C. in 1932 to demand immediate payment of their service bonuses. President Hoover refused to negotiate and instructed the U.S. Army to clear the capital of protestors, leading to a violent clash.

bully pulpit

Term used by Theodore Roosevelt to describe the office of the presidency. Roosevelt believed that the president should use his office as a platform to promote his programs and rally public opinion.

Bureau of Investigation

Domestic investigative branch of the U.S. Department of Justice originally headed by J. Edgar Hoover. The organization was later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Central Powers

Political allies during World War I consisting primarily of Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire.

civic housekeeping

Idea promoted by Jane Addams for urban reform using women's traditional skills as domestic managers; caregivers for children, the elderly, and the needy; and community builders.

Civil Works Administration (CWA)

1933 New Deal program,, which only lasted four months but employed more than 4 million people on 400,000 projects, such as building schools, roads, playgrounds, and airports.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

New Deal work program that hired young, unmarried men to work on conservation projects. It employed about 2.5 million men and lasted until 1942.

Clayton Antitrust Act

1914 act that strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act by banning certain corporate operations, such as price discrimination and overlapping membership on company boards, and by protecting labor unions. The Act was designed to encourage economic competition.

Committee on Public Information (CPI)

Committee established in 1917 to create propaganda and promote censorship to generate enthusiasm for World War I and stifle antiwar dissent.

communism

An economic theory and revolutionary ideology that imagines the overthrow of capitalism by the working class and the creation of an egalitarian society where the means of production are controlled by the state.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

An interracial organization founded in 1942 that directly protested against racial inequality in public accommodations.

conservationism

Progressive Era political and social movement whose supporters worked for the preservation of America's wildlife and natural lands.

court-packing plan

1937 proposal by Franklin Roosevelt to increase the size of the Supreme Court and reduce its opposition to New Deal legislation. Congress failed to pass the measure, and the scheme undermined Roosevelt's popular support.

Cuba Libre

Vision of Cuban independence developed by José Martí, who hoped that Cuban independence would bring with it greater social and racial equality.

D Day

June 6, 1944 invasion of German-occupied France by Allied forces. The D Day landings opened up a second front in Europe and marked a major turning point in World War II.

Department of Commerce and Labor

Government agency created in 1906 to gather information about large companies in an effort to promote fair business practices.

dollar diplomacy

Term used by President Howard Taft to describe the economic focus of his foreign policy. Taft hoped to use economic policies and the control of foreign assets by American companies to influence Latin American nations.

Double V

The slogan African Americans used during World War II to state their twin aims to fight for victory over fascism abroad and victory over racism at home.

Dust Bowl

Name for the southern plains of the United States during the Great Depression when the region experienced massive dust storms due to soil erosion caused by poor farming practices and drought.

Eighteenth Amendment

1918 amendment to the Constitution banning the production and sale of alcoholic beverages. It was repealed in 1933 with the Twenty-First Amendment.

Elkins Act

1903 act outlawing railroad rebates. The act was designed to protect smaller businesses and shippers who were paying higher rates than large favored customers, such as Standard Oil.

Emergency Banking Act

1933 New Deal executive order that shut down banks for several days to calm widespread panic during the Great Depression.

Espionage Act

1917 act that prohibited antiwar activities, including opposing the military draft. It punished speech critical of the war as well as deliberate actions of sabotage and spying.

Eugenics

The pseudoscience of producing genetic improvements in the human population through selective breeding. Proponents of eugenics often saw ethnic and racial minorities as genetically "undesirable" and inferior.

Executive Order 9066

1942 executive order issued by President Franklin Roosevelt requiring all people of Japanese descent living on the West Coast to be relocated to internment camps.

Fair Labor Standards Act

1938 law that provided a minimum wage of 40 cents an hour and a forty-hour workweek for employees in businesses engaged in interstate commerce.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

Federal agency created under the New Deal in 1933. It insured bank deposits up to $5,000, a figure that would substantially rise over the years.

feminist

Someone who believes that women should have access to the same opportunities as men.

Food Administration

New government agency created during World War I to regulate food production and consumption. Its head, Herbert Hoover, sought to increase the military and civilian food supply through a massive public campaign of voluntary conservation measures such as family gardens and "meatless Mondays."

Fourteen Points

The core principles President Woodrow Wilson saw as the basis for lasting peace, including freedom of the seas, open diplomacy, the establishment of the League of Nations, and the right to self-determination.

Fuel Administration

Government agency created during World War I to manage the production and distribution of fuel such as coal and oil.

Glass-Steagall Act

1933 New Deal legislation that allowed solvent banks to reopen and created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Great Depression

Worldwide economic collapse caused by overproduction and financial speculation. It affected the United States from October of 1929 until the start of World War II in 1939.

Great Migration

Population shift of more than 400,000 African Americans who left the South beginning in 1917-1918 and headed north and west to escape poverty and racial discrimination. During the 1920s another 800,000 black people left the South.

Harlem Renaissance

The work of Harlem-based African American writers, artists, and musicians that flourished following World War I through the 1920s.

Hawley-Smoot Act

1930 act designed to increase tariffs on agricultural and industrial imports in order to aid struggling farmers. However, the act caused retaliatory tariffs by other countries, which broadly hurt American business.

Hay-Pauncefote Treaty

1901 treaty between the United States and Great Britain granting the United States the right to construct the Panama Canal.

Hetch Hetchy valley

Site of controversial dam built to supply San Francisco with water and power in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake. The dam was built over the objections of preservationists such as John Muir.

Holocaust

The Nazi regime's genocidal effort to eradicate Europe's Jewish population during World War II, which resulted in the death of 6 million Jews and millions of other "undesirables" — Slavs, Poles, Gypsies, homosexuals, the physically and mentally disabled, and Communists.

Hull House

The settlement house, based on Toynbee Hall in England, established by Jane Addams and Ellen Starr in Chicago in 1889. It served as a center of social reform and provided educational and social opportunities for working-class poor and immigrant women and their children.

Indian Citizenship Act

1924 act extending citizenship and the right to vote to all American Indians.

Indian Reorganization Act (IRA)

1934 act that ended the Dawes Act, authorized self-government for those living on reservations, extended tribal landholdings, and pledged to uphold native customs and language.

influenza pandemic

Worldwide flu pandemic, also known as the "Spanish Flu," following the end of World War I. The pandemic ultimately killed an estimated 50 million individuals, approximately 675,000 of whom were Americans.

internment

The relocation of persons seen as a threat to national security to isolated camps during World War II. Nearly all people of Japanese descent living on the West Coast were forced to sell or abandon their possessions and relocate to internment camps during the war.

island-hopping

This strategy, employed in the Pacific by the U.S. in World War II, directed American and Allied forces to avoid heavily fortified Japanese islands and concentrate on less heavily defended islands in preparation for a combined air, land, and sea invasion of Japan.

isolationism

Informal policy stemming from the belief that the United States should not become involved with the affairs of other nations. This mindset was especially popular following World War I.

jingoists

Extremely patriotic supporters of the expansion and use of military power. Jingoists such as Theodore Roosevelt longed for a war in which they could demonstrate America's strength and prove their own masculinity.

The Jungle

1906 muckraking novel by Upton Sinclair that portrayed the poor working and living conditions in the Chicago meat-packing district, as well as the unsanitary practices in the unregulated meat production industry, leading to a widespread call for government regulation of food safety.

Keating-Owen Act

1916 act preventing the interstate sale of goods made by children under the age of 14, among other protections for children. The Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in 1918.

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Arms control agreement that outlawed war as an instrument of national policy following World War I. The policy proved unenforceable.

League of Nations

The international organization proposed by Woodrow Wilson after the end of World War I to ensure world peace and security in the future through mutual agreement. The United States failed to join the league because Wilson and his opponents in Congress could not work out a compromise.

League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)

Mexican American group consisting of largely middle-class members that challenged racial discrimination and segregation in public accommodations, engaging in economic boycotts and litigation.

Lost Generation

Term coined by the writer Gertrude Stein to describe the writers and artists disillusioned with the consumer culture of the 1920s.

Lusitania

British passenger liner struck by German submarine torpedoes off the coast of Ireland on May 15, 1915. The U-boat's torpedoes sank the ship, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans.

Manhattan Project

Code name for the secret program to develop an atomic bomb. The project was launched in 1942 and directed by the United States with the assistance of Great Britain and Canada.

Mann Act

Also known as the White Slave Trade Act, the Mann Act was passed in 1910 and banned the transportation of women across state lines from immoral purposes. In practice, this legislation was used to enforce codes of racial segregation and standards of moral behavior that enforced traditional social roles for women.

Meat Inspection Act

Regulatory standards passed by Congress in the early twentieth century, raising meatpacking standards to larger federal requirements. The act inadvertently hurt smaller businesses that could not afford new equipment to meet the new standards.

Mexican Revolution

1911 revolution in Mexico, which led to nearly a decade of bloodshed and civil war.

military-industrial complex

The government-business alliance related to the military and national defense that developed out of World War II and greatly influenced future development of the U.S. economy.

muckrakers

Investigative journalists during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who specialized in exposing corruption, scandal, and vice. Muckrakers helped build public support for progressive causes.

Muller v. Oregon

1908 Supreme Court ruling that upheld an Oregon law establishing a ten-hour workday for women.

Munich Accord

1938 agreement between Germany, Great Britain, and France, which allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland, a western region of Czechoslovakia, in an agreement Germany would not acquire any more land afterwards. However, the following year German troops occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia.

National American Woman Suffrage Association

A national organization created in 1890 when the American Woman Suffrage Association and the National Woman Suffrage Association combined. The group contributed to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1919, which guaranteed women's right to vote in the United States.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Organization founded by W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Jane Addams, and others in 1909 to fight for racial equality. The NAACP strategy focused on fighting discrimination through the courts.

National Association of Colored Women (NACW)

Organization that became the largest federation of black local women's clubs in 1896. The group was designed to relieve suffering among poor black people, defend black women, and promote the interests of all black people.

National Industrial Recovery Act

1933 New Deal legislation establishing the National Recovery Administration to work with businesses and the public to regulate prices, wages, and production.

National Labor Relations Act

1935 act (also known as the Wagner Act) that created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB protected workers' right to organize labor unions without business owner interference.

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Organization created by the National Labor Relations Act in 1935. The NLRB protected workers' right to organize labor unions without business owner interference.

National Origins Act

1924 act establishing immigration quotas by national origin. The act was intended to severely limit immigration from southern and eastern Europe as well as prohibit all immigration from East Asia.

National Recovery Administration (NRA)

New Deal agency established in 1933 to create codes to regulate production, prices, wages hours, and collective bargaining. The NRA failed to produce the intended results and was eventually ruled unconstitutional.

National War Labor Board (NWLB)

Government agency created in 1918 to settle labor disputes. The NWLB consisted of representatives from unions, corporations, and the public.

National Woman's Party

Political organization created in 1916, headed by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. The group promoted more militant tactics than the National American Woman Suffrage Association. They picketed the White House, promoted hunger strikes, and engaged in mass protests in their campaign for women's suffrage as well as an unsuccessful push for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment of 1923.

Nazism

Ideology of the German fascist party, the National Socialists, which included virulent antisemitism, militarism, and autocratic state restriction of civil liberties. Adolf Hitler was the sole leader of the Nazi Party when this ideology ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945. Nazism was the primary cause of World War II in Europe, and the Nazis organized and carried out the Holocaust during the war.

Neutrality Acts

Legislation passed between 1935 and 1937 to make it more difficult for the United States to become entangled in overseas conflicts. The Neutrality Acts reflected the strength of isolationist sentiment in 1930s America.

New Deal

The policies and programs that Franklin Roosevelt initiated to combat the Great Depression. The New Deal represented a dramatic expansion of the role of government in American society.

New Freedom

Term used by Woodrow Wilson to describe his limited-government, progressive agenda. Wilson's New Freedom was offered as an alternative to Theodore Roosevelt's New Nationalism.

New Nationalism

Agenda put forward by Theodore Roosevelt in his 1912 presidential campaign. Roosevelt called for increased regulation of large corporations, a more active role for the president, and the extension of social justice using the power of the federal government.

New Negro

1920s term for the second generation of African Americans born after emancipation and who stood up for their rights.

new woman

1920s term for the modern, sexually liberated woman. The new woman, popularized in movies and magazines, defied traditional morality.