Great Depression & New Deal Era, World War II & Holocaust, Cold War & Postwar America

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War.

The New Deal

A series of programs and reforms by Franklin D. Roosevelt aimed at relief, recovery, and reform during the Great Depression.

National Recovery Administration (NRA)

Set industry codes to stabilize prices, wages, and working conditions; later declared unconstitutional.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Employed young men in environmental projects like reforestation and park development.

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)

Paid farmers to reduce crop production to raise prices.

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Created millions of jobs building infrastructure and supporting arts projects.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR)

U.S. president (1933–1945) who led the nation through the Great Depression and most of WWII.

Atomic Bomb

Nuclear weapon used by the U.S. on Japan, leading to Japan’s surrender in WWII.

Fascism

Authoritarian political ideology emphasizing nationalism and centralized control.

Law for the Prevention of Progeny with Hereditary Diseases

Nazi law mandating forced sterilization of those deemed 'genetically unfit'.

Operation T-4

Nazi program that killed disabled individuals through euthanasia.

Ghettos

Segregated urban areas where Jews were forcibly confined under Nazi rule.

Ravensbrück

Nazi concentration camp primarily for women.

Treblinka

Nazi extermination camp where hundreds of thousands of Jews were murdered.

Lend-Lease Act

U.S. policy supplying Allies with military aid before formally entering WWII.

Pearl Harbor

Japanese attack on a U.S. naval base in 1941 that brought the U.S. into WWII.

Battle of Britain

Air campaign where Britain defended against German attacks.

D-Day

Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France on June 6, 1944.

Manhattan Project

Secret U.S. program that developed the atomic bomb.

Heavy Water

Substance used in nuclear research; Nazis attempted to use it for atomic development.

Island Hopping

U.S. strategy of capturing key Pacific islands to move closer to Japan.

Harry S. Truman

U.S. president who authorized atomic bomb use and led at the end of WWII.

Yalta Conference

1945 meeting between Allied leaders to plan postwar Europe.

USSR

Communist superpower led by Joseph Stalin during WWII and the Cold War.

V-E Day

Victory in Europe Day (May 8, 1945), marking Germany’s defeat.

V-J Day

Victory over Japan Day (August 1945), marking the end of WWII.

Kent State Protests

1970 anti–Vietnam War protests where National Guard troops killed four students.

Joseph McCarthy

Led anti-communist investigations, sparking the Red Scare.

Richard Nixon

U.S. president known for Cold War diplomacy and the Watergate scandal.

HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)

Investigated alleged communist influence in the U.S.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Federal law banning racial discrimination in voting.

Stokely Carmichael

Promoted Black Power and more militant civil rights activism.

Black Panther Party

Organization advocating Black self-defense and community programs.

Black Power

Movement emphasizing racial pride, empowerment, and political self-determination.

Stonewall Rebellion

1969 uprising that sparked the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.

Rosenberg Trial

Espionage case where Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for spying for the USSR.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

Proposed constitutional amendment to guarantee gender equality (not ratified).

John F. Kennedy

U.S. president during early Cold War tensions, including the Cuban Missile Crisis.

New Right

Conservative political movement emphasizing limited government and traditional values.

SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks)

Treaty limiting nuclear weapons between the U.S. and USSR.

Phyllis Schlafly

Opposed the ERA and promoted conservative values.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Introduced reforms (glasnost, perestroika) that helped end the Cold War.

NATO

Military alliance of Western nations formed to counter the USSR.

Berlin Airlift

U.S. and allies supplied West Berlin during a Soviet blockade (1948–49).

Nuremberg Trials

Post-WWII trials prosecuting Nazi war criminals.

Cold War

Period of tension between the U.S. and USSR involving political, military, and ideological conflict.

Iron Curtain

Term describing the division between communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe.

United Nations (U.N.)

Global organization formed to promote peace and cooperation after WWII.