HIS Final Flashcards
term popularized in the 1930s to describe American bankers and arms makers whose support for the Allied cause, some historians charged, drew the US into WWI
merchants of death
policy of making concessions to an aggressor nation, as long as its demands appear reasonable, in order to avoid war
appeasement
belief that the US should avoid foreign entanglements, alliances, and involvement, in foreign wars
isolationism
splitting of nucleus of an atom into at least two other nuclei, accompanied by the release of energy. The splitting of the nucleus of the uranium isotope U-235 or its artificial cousin, plutonium, powered the atomic bomc
fission
native-born Japanese who had moved to the US
Issei
American-born citizens of Japanese ancestry
Nisei
an organization founded in 1942 that believe African Americans should use nonviolent civil disobedience to challenge segregation
CORE (“Congress on Racial Equality”)
hatred, prejudice, oppression, or discrimination against Jews or Judaism
anti-Semitism
an individual who after WWII believed the US should avoid foreign entangements
neo-isolationist
prevention of an action by fear of the consequences; during the cold war, especially among nuclear powers
deterrence
declaration issued by the president or by a governor possessing the force of law
executive order
point of view generally shared by a group, institution, or even a culture
consensus
corporation whose various branches or subsidiaries are either directly or indirectly spread among a variety of industries, usually unrelated to one another
conglomerate
forms of communication designed to reach a vast audience, generally a nation-state or larger, without personal contact between the senders and receivers
mass media
policy of using the threat of nuclear war in order to persuade an opponent to back down
brinkmanship
combination of the US armed forces, arms manufacturers, and associated political and commercial interests, which grew rapidly during the cold war era
military-industrial complex
national defense strategy in which a nuclear attack by one side would inevitably trigger an equal response leading to the destruction of both the attacker and the defender
mutually assured destruction (MAD)
tactic used by protesters, workers, and consumers to pressure business organizations through a mass refusal to purchase their products or otherwise do business with them
boycott
form of direct action in which protesters nonviolently occupy and refuse to leave an area
sit-in
spatial and social separation of populations brought about by social behavior rather than by laws or legal mechanisms
de facto segregation
programs designed to identify and organize local leaders to take steps to alleviate poverty and crime in their neighborhoods
community action
constitutional concept, embodied in the fifth and fourteenth amendments, that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without legal safeguards such as being present at a hearing, having an opportunity to be heard in court, having the opportunity to confront hostile witnesses, and being able to present evidence
due process
advocate of a minimalist approach to governing, in which the freedom of private individual to do as they please ranks paramount
libertarian
movement encouraging unity among religions, especially among Christian denominations and between Christians and Jews
ecumenism
characterized by or generating shifts in perception and altered states of awareness, often hallucinatory, and usually brought on by drugs such as LSD, mescaline, or psilocybin
psychedelic
process of steady intensification, rather than a sudden or marked increase, applied to the increasing American military presence in Vietnam
escalation
nicknames for the two opposing positions in the American policy during the war in Vietnam
Hawks and Doves
supported the escalation of the war and a “peace with honor”
hawks
argued that the US had wrongly intervened in a civil war and should withdraw its troops from Vietnam
doves
phrase coined by President Richard Nixon in a 1969 speech, referring to the large number of Americans who supported his policies but did not express their views publicly
silent majority
relaxation of strained relations between nations, especially among the US, the Soviet Union, and China in the 1970s and late 1980s
detente
idea that identity cannot be reduced to a single shared essence. The philosophy contrasts with the belief, in American politics, that citizens should assimilate into a uniform cultural identity of shared values
pluralism
practice of actively seeking to increase the number of racial and ethnic minorities, women, persons in a protected age category, persons with disabilities, and disabled veterans in a workplace or school
affirmative action
theory that emphasizes tax cuts and business incentives to encourage economic growth rather than deficit spending to promote demand
supply-side economics
group of western cattlemen, loggers, miners, developers, and others who argued that federal ownership of huge tracts of land and natural resources violated the principle of states’ rights
sagebrush rebels
the contracting of goods or services from outside a company or organization in order to maintain flexibility in the size of the organization’s workforce
outsourcing
the act of returning people to their nation of origin. the term often refers to the act of returning soldiers or refugees to their birth country
repatriation
government financed construction projects, such as highways and bridges, for use by the public
public works
