APUSH P7 Vocab

Hawaii – A Pacific island kingdom whose monarchy (Queen Liliʻuokalani) was overthrown by American sugar planters and annexed by the United States in 1898, becoming a strategic naval base (Pearl Harbor).

Schenck v. United States (1919) – Supreme Court case that upheld the Espionage Act, declaring that free speech could be restricted when it presented a “clear and present danger”; Schenck’s anti-draft leaflets during WWI were ruled unprotected speech.

Buying on margin – The practice of purchasing stocks by paying only a small percentage of the price upfront and borrowing the rest, contributing to the speculative bubble that led to the 1929 Stock Market Crash.

Alfred Thayer Mahan – U.S. naval officer and historian whose book The Influence of Sea Power upon History (1890) argued that national power depended on a strong navy, influencing America’s turn to imperialism.

Fourteen Points – President Woodrow Wilson’s proposed post-WWI peace plan (1918), emphasizing open diplomacy, freedom of the seas, self-determination, and the creation of the League of Nations.

Hoovervilles – Shantytowns of the unemployed and homeless during the Great Depression, sarcastically named after President Herbert Hoover, whom many blamed for the economic crisis.

Yellow Journalism – Sensationalized news reporting (e.g., by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer) that exaggerated events to sell newspapers and influenced public opinion (notably in the lead-up to the Spanish-American War).

League of Nations – International organization created by the Treaty of Versailles to promote peaceful resolution of conflicts. The U.S. never joined due to Senate opposition.

Good Neighbor Policy – Franklin D. Roosevelt’s policy toward Latin America in the 1930s, emphasizing non-intervention and friendly relations, reversing earlier U.S. military interventions.

De Lome Letter (1898) – Letter by Spanish Ambassador Enrique Dupuy de Lôme criticizing President McKinley; its publication fanned U.S. anti-Spanish sentiment before the Spanish-American War.

Treaty of Versailles (1919) – Ended WWI, imposing harsh reparations on Germany, redrawing European borders, and establishing the League of Nations. The U.S. Senate refused to ratify it.

Run on the Banks – When many depositors withdraw their money simultaneously out of panic, causing banks to fail or close. Widespread in the early 1930s, worsening the Depression.

USS Maine – U.S. battleship that exploded in Havana Harbor (1898). Though the cause was unclear, the event was used to justify U.S. intervention in Cuba and start the Spanish-American War.

Reservationists – Group of U.S. senators, led by Henry Cabot Lodge, who would only support the Treaty of Versailles if certain reservations were added, especially regarding the League of Nations.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930) – One of the highest protective tariffs in U.S. history; intended to help American farmers and manufacturers but prompted retaliatory measures abroad, worsening the global Depression.

Spanish-American War (1898) – War sparked by the USS Maine explosion and reports of Spanish cruelty in Cuba. Resulted in U.S. gaining Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

Henry Cabot Lodge & Irreconcilables –

• Henry Cabot Lodge: Influential Republican senator who opposed the League of Nations.

• Irreconcilables: Senators who completely rejected the Treaty of Versailles and League membership.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) – Created by President Hoover in 1932, provided emergency loans to banks, railroads, and other businesses to stimulate economic activity.

Teller Amendment (1898) – U.S. pledge not to annex Cuba after defeating Spain, asserting that control of the island would be left to its people.

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) – International agreement to renounce war as a tool of national policy, signed by multiple nations but ultimately unenforceable.

Bonus Army (1932) – WWI veterans who marched on Washington, D.C., demanding early payment of a promised bonus. The government’s forced removal of protesters damaged Hoover’s public image.

Rough Riders – Volunteer cavalry unit led by Theodore Roosevelt in the Spanish-American War, famed for the charge up San Juan Hill in Cuba.

Red Scare (1919–1920) – A period of intense fear of communism and radicalism following WWI, spurred by events like the Bolshevik Revolution and U.S. labor strikes.

Franklin Roosevelt – 32nd President (1933–1945) who led the U.S. through the Great Depression with the New Deal and through most of WWII, greatly expanding federal government’s role.

Theodore Roosevelt (Imperialism) – 26th President (1901–1909); champion of American imperial expansion, the “Big Stick” policy, and the construction of the Panama Canal.

Palmer Raids (1919–1920) – Government actions led by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer against suspected anarchists and communists during the First Red Scare, resulting in mass arrests and deportations.

Three Rs: relief, recovery, reform – The goals of FDR’s New Deal:

• Relief: Immediate help for the unemployed

• Recovery: Boost the economy

• Reform: Prevent future depressions

Treaty of Paris (1898) – Ended the Spanish-American War; Spain ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the U.S., while Cuba gained nominal independence under U.S. influence.

Nye Committee (1934–1936) – Senate committee investigating the role of arms manufacturers in WWI, fueling isolationist sentiment before WWII by suggesting that profiteers had influenced U.S. entry.

Eleanor Roosevelt – First Lady (1933–1945) who redefined the role by actively championing civil rights, women’s rights, and social reform; a key advisor to FDR.

Anti-Imperialist League – Organization formed in 1898 to oppose U.S. territorial expansion, especially the annexation of the Philippines; notable members included Mark Twain and Andrew Carnegie.

Herbert Hoover – 31st President (1929–1933) at the onset of the Great Depression; criticized for a limited, conservative response, which paved the way for FDR’s New Deal.

New Deal – FDR’s series of programs and legislation (1933–1939) aimed at economic recovery, providing relief to the unemployed, and reforming financial systems during the Depression.

Platt Amendment (1901) – Legislation dictating conditions for Cuban independence, allowing U.S. intervention in Cuban affairs and establishing a naval base at Guantánamo Bay.

Henry Ford and the Assembly Line – Henry Ford’s innovation of a moving assembly line (1913) for the Model T revolutionized manufacturing, making cars affordable and boosting mass production.

Hundred Days – The first months of FDR’s presidency (March–June 1933), during which an unprecedented amount of New Deal legislation was enacted to combat the Depression.

Emilio Aguinaldo – Filipino revolutionary leader who fought against Spanish rule and later against U.S. occupation when the Philippines were annexed following the Spanish-American War.

Automobile – Mass-produced in the 1920s; transformed American society by boosting related industries (steel, glass, roads) and enabling suburban growth and a consumer culture.

Bank Holiday (1933) – FDR temporarily closed all banks to stop panic withdrawals. Banks reopened only after federal inspectors deemed them stable, helping restore public confidence.

Insular Cases (1901–1904) – Supreme Court decisions ruling that full constitutional rights did not automatically extend to people in U.S. territories (e.g., Puerto Rico, Philippines).

Flapper – Symbolic 1920s woman who defied traditional norms by wearing shorter dresses, bobbing her hair, and enjoying greater social freedoms, epitomizing the Jazz Age spirit.

Fireside Chats – FDR’s informal radio broadcasts during the Depression and WWII, used to explain policies and reassure the public directly in a conversational style.

Spheres of Influence – Areas of dominant political or economic control by a foreign power. Often refers to European powers in China prior to the U.S. “Open Door” policy.

Advertising – Expanded in the 1920s with mass consumer culture, employing psychological tactics to spur demand for products; used radio, newspapers, and magazines heavily.

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) – New Deal program paying farmers to reduce crop production to raise agricultural prices. Criticized for destroying surplus food while many were hungry.

Open Door Policy (1899–1900) – U.S. diplomatic policy advocating equal trading rights in China and preventing any single foreign power from monopolizing Chinese markets.

Radio – Became a dominant form of mass media in the 1920s and ‘30s, uniting the nation with news, entertainment, and political speeches, including FDR’s Fireside Chats.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) – Created by the Glass-Steagall Act (1933) to insure bank deposits, helping to restore trust in the U.S. banking system after widespread failures.

Boxer Rebellion (1900) – Chinese uprising against foreign influence and Christian missionaries; suppressed by international forces (including U.S.), increasing foreign dominance in China.

Prohibition (1920–1933) – Nationwide ban on the manufacture and sale of alcohol (18th Amendment). Gave rise to speakeasies and organized crime. Repealed by the 21st Amendment.

Public Works Administration (PWA) – New Deal agency funding large-scale construction projects (dams, bridges, schools) to create jobs and revitalize the economy.

Big Stick Policy – Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy philosophy: “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” signifying diplomacy backed by a strong military, especially in Latin America.

Speakeasy – Illegal bar during Prohibition that sold alcoholic beverages, emblematic of the 1920s’ rebellious nightlife.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) – New Deal program employing young men in reforestation, park maintenance, and other conservation projects, providing work relief and wages.

Panama Canal – Canal built (opened 1914) across the Isthmus of Panama after U.S. support for Panamanian independence from Colombia. Shortened sea routes between the Atlantic and Pacific.

Jazz Age – Nickname for the 1920s, reflecting the era’s lively jazz music scene, cultural modernism, and social liberation (flappers, speakeasies).

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – Established in 1934 to regulate the stock market, enforce federal securities laws, and reduce fraudulent practices.

Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1904) – Theodore Roosevelt’s addition declaring the U.S. would act as an “international police power” in the Western Hemisphere if nations could not maintain stability.

Lost Generation – Disillusioned American writers of the 1920s (e.g., Hemingway, Fitzgerald) who critiqued the era’s materialism and the trauma of WWI.

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) – Created in 1934 to insure mortgages, stabilizing the housing market and encouraging home ownership.

Dollar Diplomacy – President Taft’s approach of using U.S. economic investments (rather than military force) to influence policy in Latin America and other regions.

Harlem Renaissance – A cultural, social, and artistic explosion in the 1920s centered in Harlem, NY, celebrating African American heritage through literature, music, and art.

Public Works Administration (PWA) – (Duplicate) A major New Deal program (1933) funding large infrastructure projects to create jobs and stimulate the economy.

Moral Diplomacy – Woodrow Wilson’s foreign policy that sought to support democratic nations and promote U.S. ideals abroad, opposing undemocratic governments.

Consumer Culture – Phenomenon of the 1920s emphasizing mass-produced goods, advertising, and credit purchasing, fueling economic growth but also consumer debt.

Works Progress Administration (WPA) – Largest New Deal agency (1935), employing millions in public works projects and supporting artists, writers, and musicians.

Great Migration – The movement of African Americans (1910s–1940s) from the rural South to Northern and Western cities, seeking better jobs and escaping Jim Crow oppression.

Credit – Buying goods with borrowed money or installment plans, which became widespread in the 1920s and contributed to consumerism and eventual overindebtedness.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) – New Deal program (1933) that built dams and power plants in the Tennessee Valley, providing electricity, flood control, and regional development.

Neutrality – U.S. policy of avoiding entanglements in European conflicts, seen before WWI and WWII, eventually abandoned each time due to unfolding global events.

Northern Migration – Another term for the Great Migration of African Americans to industrial centers in the North and Midwest for economic opportunities and social freedoms.

National Recovery Administration (NRA) – New Deal agency (1933) aimed at stabilizing businesses via codes for fair wages, prices, and hours. Declared unconstitutional in 1935.

Submarine Warfare – Germany’s unrestricted U-boat attacks during WWI (e.g., sinking the Lusitania), which pushed the U.S. closer to entering the war on the Allied side.

Marcus Garvey and Back to Africa Movement – Marcus Garvey led the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), promoting Black pride, economic self-sufficiency, and the idea of establishing a nation in Africa.

National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act (1935) – Guaranteed workers the right to unionize and bargain collectively; created the National Labor Relations Board to oversee labor disputes.

Lusitania (1915) – British passenger ship sunk by a German U-boat; 128 Americans died, angering the U.S. public and moving the country toward WWI intervention.

Scopes Trial and Fundamentalism (1925) – Court case in Tennessee against John Scopes for teaching evolution, spotlighting the clash between religious fundamentalism and modern science.

Congress of Indust. Organizations/CIO – Union federation (formed in the 1930s) organizing unskilled and semi-skilled workers in mass-production industries (e.g., steel, auto).

Zimmermann telegram (1917) – German proposal for a military alliance with Mexico if the U.S. entered WWI; its interception and publication helped sway American opinion to enter the war.

21st Amendment (1933) – Repealed the 18th Amendment, ending Prohibition and restoring the legal sale of alcohol in the U.S.

Social Security (1935) – New Deal program establishing a federal insurance system for the elderly, unemployed, and disabled through payroll taxes.

American Expeditionary Force (AEF) – U.S. forces under General John J. Pershing sent to Europe in WWI, playing a key role in the final Allied offensives.

Immigration Act of 1921 – Also known as the Emergency Quota Act; limited immigration by imposing quotas based on nationality, reducing inflow from Southern/Eastern Europe.

Keynesian Economics – John Maynard Keynes’s theory that government spending can stimulate demand during economic downturns, influencing later New Deal measures.

Woodrow Wilson – 28th President (1913–1921) who led the U.S. during WWI, proposed the Fourteen Points, and championed the League of Nations (though the U.S. did not join).

National Origins Act of 1924 – Further restricted immigration by setting strict quotas favoring Northern/Western Europeans and almost banning Asians; reflected 1920s nativism.

Father Charles Coughlin – Catholic priest with a large radio audience in the 1930s; initially supported FDR but became a harsh critic, voicing populist and often anti-Semitic views.

War Industry Boards (War Industries Board) – WWI agencies coordinating industrial production, standardizing manufacturing, and prioritizing military contracts.

Sacco and Vanzetti (1920–1927) – Two Italian anarchists convicted and executed for robbery and murder amid the Red Scare; their trial raised questions about prejudice and fair procedure.

Francis Townsend – New Deal critic who proposed a monthly pension for seniors (Townsend Plan), influencing debates that led to the creation of Social Security.

Food Administration – Led by Herbert Hoover in WWI, encouraged voluntary rationing and increased agricultural output to supply U.S. forces and allies.

KKK – White supremacist group that resurged in the 1910s/1920s, targeting African Americans, immigrants, Catholics, Jews, and others deemed “un-American.”

Huey Long – Populist Louisiana senator and FDR critic, promoting his “Share Our Wealth” program to heavily tax the wealthy. Assassinated in 1935.

Committee on Public Information – WWI propaganda agency (1917–1919) led by George Creel, shaping public opinion in favor of the war through films, posters, and press releases.

Birth of a Nation (1915) – D.W. Griffith film glorifying the KKK and vilifying African Americans; sparked protests from civil rights groups like the NAACP.

Packing the Supreme Court (1937) – FDR’s failed plan to add justices to the Supreme Court to secure rulings favorable to New Deal legislation, widely seen as overreach.

Espionage and Sedition Acts (1917–1918) – WWI-era laws penalizing antiwar activity, criticism of the government, or interference with the draft; upheld in Schenck v. United States.

Stock Market Crash & Black Tuesday (1929) – October 29, 1929, when the stock market collapsed, marking the start of the Great Depression as investors panicked and sold off shares.

Congress of Industrial – (Likely incomplete reference to the “Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO),” already defined above.)

Dust Bowl and Okies (1930s) – Environmental disaster in the Great Plains due to drought and poor farming practices, forcing many (“Okies”) to migrate west, often to California.

War Production Board (WWII) – Agency supervising conversion of peacetime industries to war production, allocating materials, and setting priorities for military goods.

Double V Campaign – WWII effort by African Americans to achieve “victory over fascism abroad and victory over racism at home,” highlighting discrimination in defense industries.

Indian Reorganization Act (1934) – Also called the Wheeler-Howard Act, reversed assimilation policies, restored tribal ownership of lands, and promoted tribal self-government.

Office of Price Administration (OPA) – WWII agency controlling prices and rents to prevent inflation and managing rationing of scarce goods like gasoline, sugar, and meat.

Holocaust – Systematic genocide by Nazi Germany of six million Jews and millions of other persecuted groups during WWII, profoundly shaping postwar human rights perspectives.

Fascism – Authoritarian political ideology characterized by dictatorial power and extreme nationalism (e.g., Hitler’s Germany, Mussolini’s Italy).

Philip Randolph and EO 8802 – A. Philip Randolph’s planned march on Washington for equal defense-industry employment led FDR to issue Executive Order 8802, banning discrimination in wartime industries.

D-Day (June 6, 1944) – Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France (Normandy), a turning point in WWII’s European Theater, opening a western front against Germany.

Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) – Conflict in which General Franco’s fascist forces overthrew Spain’s democratic government, supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy; some Americans fought in the “Abraham Lincoln Brigade.”

Battle of Midway (1942) – Turning point in the Pacific Theater of WWII; the U.S. Navy decisively defeated Japan’s fleet, halting Japanese expansion.

Bataan Death March (1942) – Forced march of American and Filipino POWs by the Japanese in the Philippines, causing thousands of deaths due to brutality and harsh conditions.

Isolationism – U.S. policy of avoiding alliances or international conflicts, particularly strong after WWI until the attack on Pearl Harbor in WWII.

Manhattan Project – Secret U.S. program to develop the atomic bomb during WWII, culminating in the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Island hopping – WWII strategy in the Pacific of capturing strategically important islands, bypassing others, to move closer to the Japanese mainland.

Nye Committee – (Duplicate entry; see above) Senate committee investigating alleged profiteering by munitions makers in WWI, encouraging isolationism in the 1930s.

Navajo Code Talkers – Native American Marines using their Navajo language to create an unbreakable code for transmitting military communications in the Pacific.

Atomic Bomb – Nuclear weapon first used by the U.S. on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945), hastening Japan’s surrender and ending WWII.

Neutrality Acts (1930s) – Series of laws aimed at preventing U.S. involvement in foreign wars, restricting arms sales and loans to nations at war. Gradually loosened as WWII escalated.

Wartime migration – During WWII, millions of Americans moved to industrial centers for defense jobs; African Americans left the South in greater numbers, intensifying demographic changes and racial tensions.

Yalta Conference (February 1945) – Meeting of FDR, Churchill, and Stalin to plan postwar Europe, including the division of Germany and establishing the framework for the United Nations.

Four Freedoms Speech (1941) – FDR’s address articulating four universal human freedoms (speech, worship, from want, from fear), laying the ideological groundwork for U.S. involvement in WWII.

Zoot Suit Riots (1943) – Violent conflicts in Los Angeles between U.S. servicemen and Mexican American youths (wearing zoot suits); exposed racial tensions on the home front during WWII.

United Nations (1945–) – International organization formed after WWII to maintain peace and foster cooperation among nations, succeeding the League of Nations.

America First Committee (1940–1941) – Isolationist group opposing U.S. entry into WWII, with Charles Lindbergh as a leading spokesman; disbanded after Pearl Harbor.

Tuskegee Airmen – First Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps; served with distinction in WWII, breaking barriers despite segregation and discrimination.

Atlantic Charter (1941) – Joint statement by FDR and Churchill during WWII outlining shared goals for a postwar world, including self-determination and collective security.

Bracero Program (1942–1964) – Brought Mexican laborers to the U.S. for agricultural work during WWII labor shortages, continuing well beyond the war years.

Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941) – Surprise Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii, prompting the U.S. declaration of war on Japan and entry into WWII.

Japanese internment & EO 9066 – Authorized by Executive Order 9066 in 1942, the forced relocation of Japanese Americans (mainly on the West Coast) to internment camps, citing national security concerns.

Tehran Conference (1943) – First major meeting of the “Big Three” (FDR, Churchill, Stalin) during WWII, coordinating military strategy (including D-Day) and discussing postwar plans.

Korematsu v. United States (1944) – Supreme Court ruling upholding Japanese American internment as a wartime measure, later widely recognized as a grave violation of civil liberties.

Quarantine Speech (1937) – FDR’s call to “quarantine” aggressor nations (like Japan, Germany, Italy) through economic pressure and moral isolation to prevent war’s spread.

Rosie the Riveter – Cultural icon representing American women who worked in factories and shipyards during WWII, symbolizing women’s economic power and patriotism.

Cash and Carry (1939) – Revision of U.S. neutrality that allowed belligerent countries to purchase arms if they paid cash and used their own ships, helping Britain before full U.S. entry into WWII.

Harry Truman – 33rd President (1945–1953) who authorized use of the atomic bomb, led the U.S. through the end of WWII and into the Cold War era (Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan).

Lend Lease Act (1941) – Allowed the U.S. to supply Allied nations with war materials in exchange for military bases or delayed payment, effectively ending formal neutrality prior to WWII involvement.

Potsdam Conference (July–August 1945) – Meeting of Truman, Stalin, and Churchill/Attlee after Germany’s defeat; negotiated postwar order, demanded Japan’s unconditional surrender, and discussed reparations.