Honors US History Spring 2026 Final Exam Study Sheet

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards for the Honors US History Spring 2026 Final Exam, covering prominent figures, legislation, court cases, and major historical events.

Charles Lindbergh

An American aviator who achieved international fame for the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

Lyndon Johnson (LBJ)

The $36^{th}$ President of the United States who championed 'Great Society' legislation and expanded U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

Neil Armstrong

The first person to walk on the moon during the Apollo $11$ mission in $1969$.

Fidel Castro

The revolutionary leader of Cuba who established a communist state and was a key figure during the Bay of Pigs Invasion and Cuban Missile Crisis.

Earl Warren

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court whose tenure saw landmark civil rights rulings such as Brown v. Board of Education.

Upton Sinclair

The muckraking author of 'The Jungle,' which exposed unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne whose assassination in Sarajevo triggered the start of World War I.

John D. Rockefeller

An industrialist who founded the Standard Oil Company and became one of the wealthiest figures in American history through horizontal integration.

Douglas MacArthur

A prominent U.S. General who led forces in the Pacific during World War II and commanded UN forces during the Korean War.

Booker T. Washington

An African American educator and leader who founded the Tuskegee Institute and advocated for vocational education and economic self-reliance.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR)

The President during the Great Depression and World War II, known for his 'New Deal' programs and leadership of the Allied powers.

Joseph McCarthy

A U.S. Senator known for his anti-communist 'witch hunts' and the Red Scare during the early Cold War era.

Andrew Carnegie

A steel industry tycoon and philanthropist who promoted the 'Gospel of Wealth.'

William Jennings Bryan

A politician and orator known for his 'Cross of Gold' speech and his role in the Scopes Monkey Trial.

Henry Ford

The founder of Ford Motor Company who pioneered the assembly line and mass production of the Model T.

Theodore Roosevelt

The $26^{th}$ President known for his 'Square Deal' policies, trust-busting, and leading the Rough Riders.

Jackie Robinson

The athlete who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Rosa Parks

A civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

John F. Kennedy (JFK)

The $35^{th}$ President whose term included the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the start of the Space Race before his assassination.

Dr. Benjamin Spock

A pediatrician whose book 'The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care' influenced parenting in the post-WWII era.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

A primary leader of the Civil Rights movement who advocated for nonviolent protest and delivered the 'I Have a Dream' speech.

Richard Nixon

The President who initiated 'Vietnamization,' visited China, and eventually resigned due to the Watergate Scandal.

Sandra Day O’Connor

The first woman to serve as a Justice on the United States Supreme Court.

Muckrakers

Journalists of the Progressive Era who sought to expose corruption and social injustices in government and big business.

Rough Riders

A volunteer cavalry regiment led by Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War.

$16^{th}$ Amendment

Constitutional amendment that authorized Congress to levy a federal income tax.

$18^{th}$ Amendment

Constitutional amendment that established the prohibition of alcohol in the United States.

$19^{th}$ Amendment

Constitutional amendment that guaranteed women the right to vote.

$21^{st}$ Amendment

Constitutional amendment that repealed the $18^{th}$ Amendment, ending Prohibition.

$26^{th}$ Amendment

Constitutional amendment that lowered the voting age to $18$ years old.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

The Supreme Court case that ruled racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson.

Roe v. Wade

The Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide based on a right to privacy.

Plessy v. Ferguson

The $1896$ Supreme Court case that established the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

US v. Nixon

The Supreme Court case that ruled executive privilege is not absolute, forcing the release of the Watergate tapes.

Pure Food and Drug Act

A law passed during the Progressive Era to prevent the manufacture or sale of misbranded or poisonous food and drugs.

Social Security Act

A New Deal law that established a system of old-age benefits for workers and aid for the unemployed and disabled.

Marshall Plan

A U.S. initiative to provide economic aid to rebuild Western Europe after World War II to prevent the spread of communism.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Legislation that gave President Lyndon Johnson nearly unlimited authority to escalate U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.

War Powers Act

A federal law intended to check the U.S. president's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of Congress.

Sherman Antitrust Act

The first federal act that outlawed monopolistic business practices.

Federal Highway Act

A law signed by Eisenhower that authorized the construction of the Interstate Highway System.

Voting Rights Act of $1965$

Legislation that aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote.

Medicare

A federal program introduced under LBJ to provide health insurance for Americans aged $65$ and older.

Dawes-Severalty Act

An act intended to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream society by breaking up tribal lands into individual plots.

Red Scare

Periods of intense fear of communist subversion and infiltration in the United States.

D-Day

The Allied invasion of Normandy, France, on June $6$, $1944$, also known as Operation Overlord.

Pearl Harbor

The Japanese surprise attack on a U.S. naval base in Hawaii on December $7$, $1941$, leading the U.S. into WWII.

U-2 incident

An international diplomatic crisis that occurred when a U.S. spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union in $1960$.

Scopes Monkey Trial

A high-profile legal case in $1925$ that debated the teaching of evolution versus creationism in public schools.

Harlem Renaissance

An intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, and literature in the $1920s$ and $1930s$.

Teapot Dome Scandal

A bribery scandal involving the secret leasing of federal oil reserves during the Harding administration.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

A failed military invasion of Cuba in $1961$ by CIA-sponsored Cuban exiles intended to overthrow Fidel Castro.

Tet Offensive

A major offensive by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces in $1968$ that turned U.S. public opinion against the Vietnam War.

Watergate Scandal

A political scandal involving the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and the subsequent cover-up by the Nixon administration.

Fourteen Points

President Woodrow Wilson's proposal for a post-WWI peace settlement, including the creation of the League of Nations.

Blitzkrieg

A military tactic meaning 'lightning war' used by Germany in WWII involving rapid, coordinated attacks.

Containment policy

A geopolitical strategy to stop the expansion of an enemy, specifically the U.S. policy to prevent the spread of communism.

Iron Curtain

A term popularized by Winston Churchill to describe the political and ideological barrier between Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe and Western Europe.

Reaganomics

The economic policies of Ronald Reagan, which focused on supply-side economics, tax cuts, and deregulation.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; a military alliance of Western nations established for collective defense.

SEC

Securities and Exchange Commission; a government agency that regulates the stock market and protects investors.

FDIC

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; a U.S. corporation providing deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. commercial banks.

TVA

Tennessee Valley Authority; a New Deal agency created to provide navigation, flood control, and electricity to the Tennessee Valley.

NAFTA

North American Free Trade Agreement; an agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to eliminate trade barriers.