FINAL Flashcards
Black Tuesday
This term refers to the stock market crash that occurred on October 29, 1929
Dred Scott
He was an enslaved African-American who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom and that of his family in 1857
Prohibition
This was a nation-wide Constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages that lasted from 1920-1933
VE Day
Celebrated on May 8, 1945, this marks the formal acceptance by the Allies of Germany’s surrender, thus ending World War II in Europe
13th Amendment
Formally ratified on December 6, 1865, this abolished slavery and involuntary servitude
Speakeasy
Also called a blind pig or blind tiger, this was an establishment that illegally sold alcoholic beverages during Prohibition in the United States
Appomattox Court House
This battle occurred on April 9, 1865, and was one of the last of the American Civil War. It marked the formal surrender of the Confederate Army to Ulysses S. Grant
Imperialism
This is an action that involves a country extending its power by the acquisition of territories through occupation or force
14th Amendment
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside…”
Flapper
This term defines a generation of young women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz music, wore excessive makeup, smoked cigarettes, and drank alcohol publicly
Jefferson Davis
He served as President of the Confederate States from 1861-1865
Robber Barons
This is a derogatory term for late 19th-century American businessmen who used unscrupulous or unethical methods to avoid competition and get rich
Zimmerman Telegram
This was a secret message between Germany and Mexico, proposing an alliance if the United States were to enter World War I. The Germans promised Mexico that they would recover Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico
15th Amendment
Ratified on February 3, 1870, this prohibits the government from denying a citizen the right to vote based on, “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
D-Day
June 6, 1944 marks the Allied invasion of Normandy, France. Called Operation Overlord, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history
Appeasement
A diplomatic policy of making political or material concessions to an aggressive power in order to avoid conflict. The term is most often applied to the foreign policy of the British towards Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy between 1935 and 1939
Lend-Lease Act
A program under which the United States supplied Free France, the United Kingdom, the Republic of China, and later the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, and materials between 1941 and August 1945
Manhattan Act
The code name for the effort to develop atomic bombs for the United States during World War II
Luftwaffe
The aerial warfare branch of the combined German Wehrmacht military forces during World War II
Kristallnacht
The Nazi attack on Jews that occurred November 9-10, 1938, also known as the “Night of Broken Glass.”
Blitzkreig
German for “lightning war,” this military tactic was used by the Nazis to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower
18th Amendment
Once ratified, this declared the production, transport, and sale of alcohol (though not the consumption or private possession) illegal. The separate Volstead Act set down methods for enforcing this law
Manifest Destiny
The 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable
Vertical Integration
The combination in one company of two or more stages of production normally operated by separate companies
Dust Bowl
Over-farming and drought throughout the 1930’s that impacted the agriculture and ecology of the American Mid-West
Tenement
A run-down and often overcrowded apartment house, especially in a poor section of a large city
VJ Day
This marks the surrender of the Japanese on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay officially ending World War 2
War Production Board
Formed in August of 1941, this was an agency of the United States that supervised materials and supplies for World War II
Bootlegging
This term came to popularity during Prohibition meaning the illegal manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol
New Immigrants
Hailing largely from southern and eastern Europe, they were Catholic and Jewish in religion, arriving from the Balkans, Italy, Poland, and Russia
Wilson’s 14 Points
This was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms to the United States Congress by the President
Horizontal Consolidation
When a firm buys its competitors. It buys other companies that make the same sorts of products so that it increases its market share and decreases its competition
Industrial Revolution
Following the American Civil War, this marked the shift from manual labor-based industry to more technical and machine-based manufacturing which greatly increased the overall production and economic growth of the United States
Sedition Act
It forbade the use of “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language” about the United States government, its flag, or its armed forces or that caused others to view the American government or its institutions with contempt
21st Amendment
Ratified on December 5, 1933, this officially ended the prohibition of alcohol in the United States
Lousiana Purchase
This was when the United States acquired a large parcel of land from France (including the State of Colorado) in 1803
Urbanization
This refers to a shift in population from rural farmland to large cities
Doughboys
An informal term for a member of the United States Army or Marine Corps, especially used to refer to members of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I
League of Nations
An intergovernmental organization founded in January 1920 as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace
Bessemer Process
This was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace
National Socialist Party
This was a far-right political party in Germany that was active between 1920 and 1945
Ellis Island
Located in Upper New York Bay, this was the gateway for over 12 million immigrants to the U.S. as the United States’ busiest immigrant inspection station for over 60 years from 1892 until 1954
Reconstruction
This commonly refers to the period of time at the end of the American Civil War, when slavery was abolished, and former Confederate states were being reabsorbed into the Union
Gilded Age
This term was coined by Mark Twain, and it refers to the period of time after the Civil War until the 1900’s, marked by increased economic prosperity and progress
Trench Warfare
This is a type of land warfare using occupied fighting lines consisting largely of military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy’s small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery
Suffrage
The right to vote in political elections
Propoganda
Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. It was used during times of war in every medium besides television
Selective Service Act
This authorized the United States federal government to raise a national army for service in World War I
Submarine Warafe/U-Boats
The U-boat Campaign from 1914 to 1918 was the World War I naval campaign fought by German U-boats against the trade routes of the Allies. It took place largely in the seas around the British Isles and in the Mediterranean
Social Mobility
The movement of individuals, families, households, or other categories of people within or between layers or tiers in an open system of social stratification
