CONCEPTS
Atomic Bomb: An explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions. The US deployed atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Axis Alliance: The enemies of the United States and its allies, its primary members were Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Domino Theory: Eisenhower’s belief that if one nation fell to communism, others would follow.
Fourteen Points: Woodrow Wilson’s plan for peace at the post-war delegation at Versailles, which included proposals for European boundaries through self-determination, principles for international conduct, and the proposal of the League of Nations. The points did not have the success Wilson desired.
Freedom Riders: Groups of blacks rode trains around the country (specifically the South) to test the willingness of southern states to comply with non-segregation law, facing mob brutality and earning the issue of civil rights national publicity.
The Great Society: Theme of Lyndon Johnson’s administration, focusing on poverty, education, and civil rights.
Harlem Renaissance: A movement of African American cultural awareness that thrived in literature, art and music.
“Iron Curtain”: Symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989.
Manhattan Project: The effort, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, which resulted in the development of the first atomic bomb during World War II.
Military-Industrial Complex: Eisenhower warned against letting military industrial production get out of hand and dictate the political policies of the U.S.
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD): A doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two opposing sides would effectively result in the destruction of both the attacker and the defender, becoming thus a war that has no victory nor any armistice but only total destruction.
New Deal: The economic and political policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Depression.
Nixon’s “Enemies List”: The informal name of what started as a list of President of the United States Richard Nixon’s major political opponents, and sent in memorandum form to John Dean on September 9, 1971. The list became public knowledge when Dean mentioned during hearings with the Senate Watergate Committee that a list existed containing those whom the president did not like
Prohibition: A ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol. This was the primary goal of the Anti-Saloon League.
“Reaganomics”: Also known as supply-side economics and called trickle-down economics by critics. The four pillars of Reagan's economic policy were to: Reduce Growth of Government spending, Reduce Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax, Reduce Government regulation, and Control the money supply to reduce inflation.
Sit-ins: A popular form of protest during the Civil Rights movement that was successfully initiated in Montgomery, and consisted of blacks simply occupying segregated areas for extended periods of time.
Submarine Warfare: First used during Civil War. Germans used in WWI U-boat sank Lusitania, part of why US entered war. WWII – pivotal role for US subs after Pearl Harbor attack destroyed Pacific fleet.
Triple Alliance: Also known as the Central Powers, it was comprised of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in World War I.
U-Boat: A German submarine; these played a key role in the U.S. intervention in the war by violating neutral shipping rights and sinking the Lusitania.
“Vietnamization”: The gradual process of the withdrawal of United States from Vietnam and the taking over of war efforts by the South Vietnamese.
Zimmerman Telegram (Note): A message from Germany to the German ambassador in Mexico that suggested that an alliance be made between Germany and Mexico should the U.S. enter the war. This message was intercepted by Americans and became a propaganda tool for entry into the war.
EVENTS
McCarthy Hearings: Held for the purpose of investigating conflicting accusations between the United States Army and Senator Joseph McCarthy. On December 2, 1954, the Senate voted to censure Senator McCarthy by a vote of 67 to 22.
Bonus Expeditionary Force: (Aka “Bonus Army”) Unemployed veterans of World War I who marched on Washington in 1932 demanding payment of service bonuses not due until 1945.
Cuban Missile Crisis: Incident between the United States and Soviet Union over the Soviet placement of nuclear weapons in Cuba.
D-Day: June 6, 1944 – The Allies invaded Normandy, France, sustaining heavy casualties but succeeding in making an entrance to France to begin Operation Overlord.
Democratic National Convention, Chicago: Held at the Chicago Coliseum from July 7 to July 11, was the scene of William Jennings Bryan's nomination as Democratic presidential candidate. Bryan's keynote "Cross of Gold" address, delivered prior to his nomination, attacked the wealthy for supporting the gold standard at the expense of the average worker.
Fall of Saigon: The capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam under communist rule.
Iran Hostage Crisis: A diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States. Fifty-two US citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamic students and militants took over the Embassy of the United States in support of the Iranian Revolution. During Carter presidency.
Iran-Contra Affair: A political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior Reagan Administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, the subject of an arms embargo. Some U.S. officials also hoped that the arms sales would secure the release of hostages and allow U.S. intelligence agencies to fund the Nicaraguan Contras.
Japanese American Internment: The removal of Japanese (Issei) from war-related areas in the United States to internment camps. They faced heavy discrimination.
The Jazz Singer: The first movie to successfully introduce sound, starring Al Jolson
Korean War: War in East Asia with American troops led by MacArthur. The war ended in a relative stalemate when Chinese troops entered, and Korea remained divided.
Lusitania: A British liner containing some American passengers that was sunk by a German U-boat, rousing popular opinion for U.S. entry into the war.
March on Washington: 200,000 civil rights activists led by MLK marched to Washington in nonviolent protest. It was here that MLK gave the famous “I have a dream” speech.
Montgomery Bus Boycott: A boycott of Montgomery buses initiated by Rosa Parks and led by Martin Luther King Jr. that succeeded in countering Montgomery’s bus segregation laws.
Nixon Resigns: Due to the effects of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon resigned as President on August 9, 1974, the first and only resignation of any U.S. President.
Paris Peace Talks: Beginning in May, 1968, negotiations between the US and North Vietnam to end bombing. Negotiations dragged on for years.
Pentagon Papers: Classified Defense Department documents on the history of the United States’ involvement in Vietnam, prepared in 1968 and leaked to the press in 1971.
Port Huron Statement: The manifesto of the American student activist movement Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), who demanded an immediate withdrawal from Vietnam.
Russo-Japanese War: February 8, 1904 – September 5, 1905 was "the first great war of the 20th century" which grew out of the rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea.
Saturday Night Massacre: The term given by political commentators to U.S. President Richard Nixon's executive dismissal of independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox, and the resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus on October 20, 1973 during the Watergate scandal.
Scopes “Monkey” Trial: A highly publicized trial where a biology teacher challenged the teaching of Darwinism. The jury convicted Scopes but the case was thrown out on a technicality. The case emphasized the appeal of fundamentalism to some Americans.
Sputnik: The first space orbiting satellite, created by the Soviet Union.
Stock Market Crash: “Black Tuesday”, October 29, 1929, the day the stock market crashed, as people began to panic and sell their shares.
Tet Offensive: A massive attack by the North Vietnamese and Vietcong that was able to overtake the American embassy in Saigon and resulted in many casualties on both sides (mainly Vietcong), including civilians.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: A company made famous when its building was set on fire, killing 146 girls who were locked inside. This tragic event led to a series of state laws improving safety conditions.
World War l: Began in the summer of 1914 and lasted until November 1918. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the trigger. Allies (Triple Entente): UK, France, Russia (US entered war in 1917 on side of Allies). Central Powers (Triple Alliance): German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
World War ll: Begun on 1 September 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Germany. The US entered the war in 1941 after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The war in Europe ended with the capture of Berlin by Soviet and Polish troops and the subsequent German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. The war in Asia ended on 15 August 1945 when Japan agreed to surrender.
PEOPLE (INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS)
Ashcan School: A realist artistic movement that came into prominence in the United States during the early twentieth century, best known for works portraying scenes of daily life in New York's poorer neighborhoods.
Black Panthers: An African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982. The Black Panther Party achieved national and international notoriety through its involvement in the Black Power movement and in U.S. politics of the 1960s and 70s.
Bolsheviks: Members of the communist revolution in Russia who established the Soviet government in 1917.
George H. W. Bush: Served as the 41st President of the United States (1989–1993). Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency; military operations were conducted in Panama and the Persian Gulf at a time of world change; the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Soviet Union dissolved two years later.
Jimmy Carter: Served as the 39th President of the United States (1977–1981) and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. The end of his presidential tenure was marked by the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (at the end of 1979), and the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.
Fidel Castro: The communist leader of Cuba whom the United States opposed during the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis.
Chicago Seven: Seven defendants—Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, and Lee Weiner—charged with conspiracy, inciting to riot, and other charges related to protests that took place in Chicago, Illinois on the occasion of the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP): A fundraising organization of United States President Richard Nixon's administration. Besides its re-election activities, CRP employed money laundering and slush funds and was directly and actively involved in the Watergate scandal.
Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO): A federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not Communists. Many CIO leaders refused to obey that requirement, later found unconstitutional. The CIO merged with the American Federation of Labor to form the AFL-CIO in 1955.
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE): Civil rights group formed in 1942 committed to nonviolent protests to segregation.
Calvin Coolidge: Easily winning the election of 1924, he believed in as little government as possible. His primary goal was to clear the way for business, which he valued highly, reducing federal spending and lowering taxes.
Dwight D. Eisenhower: The supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe, he contrasted from MacArthur’s conservative old-guard views and presented a model of leadership to his soldiers. Republican candidate that won the election of 1952, he aggressively campaigned against Truman and for peace in Korea.
Archduke Ferdinand: The archduke of the Austro-Hungarian Empire who was assassinated, directly leading to the outbreak of World War I.
F. Scott Fitzgerald: An extremely influential novelist who distrusted American prosperity and politics and celebrated the “Jazz Age”. His works include The Great Gatsby and The Side of Paradise.
Gerald Ford: The 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974. As the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment (after the resignation of Spiro Agnew), when he became President upon Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, he became the only President of the United States who was never elected President or Vice-President.
Henry Ford: Inventor of the assembly line and owner of the Ford Motor Company.
Betty Friedan: A wife and mother who realized many of her peers felt confined by the image of suburban domesticity, which inspired her to write The Feminine Mystique.
Marcus Garvey: A prominent black nationalist from Jamaica, he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association. He attempted to create the Black Star Line, but was found guilty of mail fraud and deported.
Warren G. Harding: Elected President in 1920, on the ambiguous campaign policy, “Return to Normalcy”.
Ernest Hemingway: A well-known novelist who depicted war in a jaded tone and enduring life with dignity. He wrote A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises.
Alger Hiss: A former member of FDR’s state department who was accused by Whittaker Chambers of being an underground Communist and was charged with 5 years in jail, after which he proclaimed his innocence.
Adolf Hitler: Chancellor of Germany, he was the instigator of WWII and responsible for the extermination of over 6 million Jews.
Herbert Hoover: Appointed by President Wilson to lead the Food Administration, where he succeeded in instituting voluntary controls on food prices that were necessary to help the war effort. Secretary of commerce during the Harding and Coolidge presidencies, he was elected president in 1928. He valued individualism and efficiency and sought to actively assist the business community.
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC): Organization founded in 1945 to root out pro-Fascists that later investigated propaganda against the government or anything deemed “un-American”.
Lyndon B. Johnson: Successor of JFK after he was assassinated, the theme of his administration was the Great Society.
John F. Kennedy: Democrat elected in 1960 over Richard Nixon, he promoted the New Frontier policy and entered the presidency dramatically.
Robert Kennedy: Attorney General during the Kennedy administration, he was and influential civil rights activist, interfering in allowing the first black student into the University of Mississippi. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in 1968 who supported civil rights, and was on course to win until he was assassinated.
Martin Luther King Jr.: Leader of the Civil Rights movement and leader of the SCLC who admired Mohandas Ghandi and was murdered.
Henry Kissinger: A diplomat who insisted that the United States should not appear weak and aggressively pursued the Vietnam War.
Nikita Khrushchev: Successor of Josef Stalin as Premier of the Soviet Union, he made a 12-day trip to America and called for a summit in Paris to discuss disarmament.
Sinclair Lewis: Most acclaimed novelist of the 1920s who focused on satire. His works include Main Street and Babbit.
Charles Lindbergh: Completed the first transatlantic airplane flight in 1927, the landing of which was popularized by new forms of media.
General Douglas MacArthur: Supreme commander of Allied forces in the Pacific, he was extremely conservative and was said to admire the German army.
Joseph McCarthy: A Republican senator for Wisconsin who was known for his claims that he had evidence of conspiracies and was fiercely anti-communist.
James Meredith: The first African American student at the University of Mississippi in 1962, an event that was a flashpoint in the American civil rights movement.
Muckrakers: People involved in the act of seeking out the negative aspects of society and dramatizing them in a published work; also known as “exposure journalism”.
Benito Mussolini: The Fascist dictator of Italy during WWII.
NAACP: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People – an interracial organization supported by W.E.B. Du Bois that fought for political and social equality.
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration – Agency developed to compete with the Soviet Union in the space race.
National Organization for Women (NOW): Led campaigns for laws banning sex discrimination in work and education, for maternity leaves for working mothers, and for government funding of day-care centers.
National Women’s Suffrage Association ( NWSA): A radical all-women group that demanded a wide spectrum of rights for women, including suffrage, and based on the Declaration of Sentiments.
Richard Nixon: Elected President in 1968, over Hubert Humphrey. He resigned in 1974 as a result of Watergate.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): A treaty of defense among 10 European countries, the U.S., and Canada that complemented the Marshall Plan, strengthening economic ties.
Sandra Day O’Connor: The first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006.
Organization of American States (OAS): A regional international organization, whose members are the thirty-five independent states of the American Continent. The Charter of the Organization of American States was signed by 21 countries on 30 April 1948. The goal of the OAS was to achieve an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, to strengthen their collaboration, and to defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity, and their independence.
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC): An intergovernmental organization of twelve developing countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. One of the principal goals is the determination of the best means for safeguarding the organization's interests, individually and collectively. It also pursues ways and means of ensuring the stabilization of prices in international oil markets.
Progressive: A political attitude favoring or advocating changes or reform through governmental action. Progressivism is often viewed in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.
Ronald Reagan: The 40th President of the United States (1981–1989), the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975) and prior to that, an actor. In his first term he survived an assassination attempt, took a hard line against labor unions, and ordered military actions in Grenada. He was reelected in a landslide in 1984. Publicly describing the Soviet Union as an "evil empire," he supported anti-Communist movements worldwide.
Jacob Riis: A journalist and author of How the Other Half Lives.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Served 3 terms as president beginning in 1932 who suffered from polio, which gave him patience and determination. He was previously the governor of New York.
Theodore Roosevelt: Elected president in 1904 (after having served 3 years after President McKinley was assassinated). He was the youngest man to ever hold office as president, preached the value of “the strenuous life”, and ran in the election of 1912 for the Progressive Party.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg: A government engineer and his wife who were accused of conveying atomic secrets to the Soviet government and who eventually were put to the electric chair.
Sacco and Vanzetti: Two Italian immigrants who were charged with murder. Their trial and eventual conviction displayed the nativist and anti-immigrant nature of the court system.
Margaret Sanger: Promoted birth control techniques on a national scale, and was thrown in jail multiple times.
Upton Sinclair: Author of the muckraking novel, The Jungle, which exposed the filthy sanitation and working conditions of the Chicago stockyards.
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO): Created by the United States prior to the Vietnam War in the attempt to expel communism from the region.
Southern Christian Leadership Conference: Black civil rights organization founded by Martin Luther King, Jr. and other members of the church to promote nonviolent protest.
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee: Black civil rights organization founded in 1960 that drew heavily on younger activists and college students in nonviolent protest.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS): Organization of college students that demanded an immediate withdrawal from Vietnam.
William Howard Taft: The 27th President of the United States (1909-1913) and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States (1921-1930). Taft's domestic agenda emphasized trust-busting, civil service reform, strengthening the Interstate Commerce Commission, improving the performance of the postal service, and passage of the Sixteenth Amendment. Abroad, Taft sought to further the economic development of underdeveloped nations in Latin America and Asia through "Dollar Diplomacy".
Hideki Tojo: The 40th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II. As Prime Minister, he was responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor, which led to the United States entering World War II. After the end of the war, Tojo was sentenced to death for war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and hanged on 23 December 1948.
Harry S. Truman: Succeeded the presidency after FDR, oversaw the end of WWII, and authorized the dropping of the two atomic bombs.
United Nations: An organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security.
The Urban League: A nonpartisan civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States. It is the oldest and largest community-based organization of its kind in the nation.
Earl Warren: Appointed the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court during Brown v. Board of Education, he influenced the Court to come to a decision and declare segregation unconstitutional.
Woodrow Wilson: A Democrat elected president in 1912, he followed the lead of Roosevelt by using his position for activism, though he was cautious on social issues.
The Wright Brothers: Two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903.
PLACES
Bay of Pigs: A failed American invasion of Cuba. The invasion force was led by the CIA.
Berlin Wall: A barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin.
Camp David: The country retreat of the President of the United States and his guests. Camp David received its present name from Dwight D. Eisenhower, in honor of his grandson, David.
Gulf of Tonkin: In August 1964, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson claimed that North Vietnamese forces had twice attacked American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. Known today as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, this event led to open war between North Vietnam and the United States.
Hiroshima: The location of the first atomic bombing of Japan. The bomb inflicted massive destruction
Los Alamos: In New Mexico, it was the location for the Manhattan Project.
Nagasaki: The location of the second atomic bomb dropping in Japan.
Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941 – Japanese air forces attacked this location in Hawaii, destroying much of the American navy and leading to the American declaration of war.
Potsdam: Location for Potsdam Conference, a meeting held just outside Berlin among Truman, Churchill, and Stalin whose post-war views differed, but the necessity for the surrender of Japan was agreed upon. Here Truman received the news of the successful testing of the atomic bomb.
Three Mile Island: A nuclear power plant in PA, it was the site of the nuclear core meltdown in 1979.
Watergate: Hotel where wiretaps were placed and it turned into a complex scandal involving attempts to cover up illegal actions taken by administration officials and leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.
Yalta: Location of Yalta Conference, a meeting between FDR, Churchill, and Stalin that was governed by each countries desires for “spheres of influence” and which guaranteed a Soviet declaration of war on Japan within 2 months of Germany’s surrender.
POLICIES, AGREEMENTS, COURT RULINGS, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
16th Amendment: Authorized a federal income tax. This was utilized by President Woodrow Wilson, who imposed a graduated income tax.
17th Amendment: Established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote; adopted on April 8, 1913.
18th Amendment: Established Prohibition in the United States. Its ratification was certified on January 16, 1919.
19th Amendment: Prohibits any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920.
21st Amendment: Repealed prohibition.
Abrams v. United States: A 7-2 decision of the United States Supreme Court involving the 1918 Amendment to the Espionage Act of 1917. The defendants were charged and convicted for inciting resistance to the war effort and for urging curtailment of production of essential war material.
Agricultural Adjustment Act: Part of the New Deal to provide immediate relief for farmers. It set the benchmark for the future for setting prices of farm commodities, and the AAA also utilized subsidies.
Atlantic Charter: An agreement drawn up by Churchill and FDR that called for free trade, disarmament, and an end to territorial expansion after the war.
Baker v. Carr: (1962) In a 6-2 ruling, the Supreme Court held that federal courts have the power to determine the constitutionality of a State's voting districts.
Brown v. Board of Education: A collective group of court cases initiated by Thurgood Marshall that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and declared that segregation violated the Constitution.
Central Intelligence Agency: Organization formed in 1947 that coordinates the gathering and evaluation of military and economic information regarding foreign nations.
Civil Rights Act of 1964: Prohibited discrimination in public facilities, outlawed bias in federal assistance programs, and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Civilian Conservation Corps: Part of the New Deal during the “Hundred Days” that was established to aid unemployment by providing work for young men in protecting the nation’s natural resources (i.e. road construction, reforestation, flood control).
Clayton Antitrust Act: The act that replaced the Sherman Antitrust Act and protected unions and strikers from federal courts, while still monitoring trusts.
Containment: A United States policy using military, economic, and diplomatic strategies to stall the spread of communism.
Department of Housing and Urban Development: Founded as a Cabinet department in 1965, as part of the "Great Society" program of President Lyndon Johnson, to develop and execute policies on housing and metropolises.
Eisenhower Doctrine: A country could request American economic assistance and/or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression from another state.
Emergency Banking Relief Bill: An act of Congress under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. It was passed on March 9, 1933. The act allowed a plan that would close down insolvent banks and reorganize and reopen those banks strong enough to survive.
Emergency Quota Act: (1921) It restricted immigration into the United States and it added 2 new features to American immigration law: numerical limits on immigration from Europe and the use of a quota system for establishing those limits.
Engle v. Vitale: (1962), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that determined that it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and require its recitation in public schools.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Federal agency created in 1970 to oversee environmental monitoring and cleanup programs.
Equal Rights Amendment: Called for equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and, in 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time. In 1972, it passed both houses of Congress, but failed to gain ratification before its June 30, 1982 deadline.
Espionage Act: Law that prohibited obstructing America’s war effort; it was used to suppress dissent and criticism, such as that of the radical labor movement.
Fair Labor Standards Act: (1938) established a national minimum wage, guaranteed 'time-and-a-half' for overtime in certain jobs, and prohibited most employment of minors in "oppressive child labor".
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: Created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks.
Federal Emergency Relief Act: Set up Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which gave $250 million as direct relief to states and apportioned another $250 million on the basis of a $1 for every $3 of state/local relief. This policy was direct relief, differing from Hoover’s loans.
Federal Highway Act: Authorized $32 billion for the construction of an interstate highway system. It was funded by new taxes and generated and enhanced many industries, such as trucking and oil.
Federal Reserve Act: An act that created 12 Federal Reserve Banks, helping the government to regulate the amount of currency in circulation and diminishing the power of private banks.
Federal Trade Commission Act: Created Federal Trade Commsion – it had regulatory control over large businesses, similar to the ICC’s control of railroads.
Fordney-McCumber Act: (1922) raised American tariffs in order to protect factories and farms. Congress displayed a pro-business attitude in passing the tariff and in promoting foreign trade through providing huge loans to Europe, which in turn bought more American goods.
Full Employment Act: (Aka Employment Act of 1946) Its main purpose was to lay the responsibility of economic stability of inflation and unemployment onto the federal government.
Geneva Conference/ Accord: An agreement in 1956 that called for a reunification of Vietnam and national elections. The United States did not sign this agreement.
Gideon v. Wainwright: In 1963, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that state courts are required under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution to provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants who are unable to afford their own attorneys.
Glass-Steagall Banking Act: (1933)a law that established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the United States and introduced banking reforms, some of which were designed to control speculation.
Good Neighbor Policy: The American view under Presidents Garfield and Harrison that high levels of economic participation in other countries would be more beneficial than outright conquest.
Hawley-Smoot Tariff: Signed into law on June 17, 1930, it raised U.S. tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods to record levels. The overall level tariffs under the Tariff were the second-highest in US history, exceeded by a small margin only by the Tariff of 1828 and the ensuing retaliatory tariffs by U.S. trading partners reduced American exports and imports by more than half.
Helsinki Accord: During July and August 1, 1975, 35 states, including the USA, Canada, and all European states except Albania and Andorra, signed the declaration in an attempt to improve relations between the Communist bloc and the West.
Kellogg-Briand Pact: Also known as the Pact of Paris, it renounced war on principle grandly.
Korematsu v. U.S.: The Supreme Court Case that upheld the constitutionality of the relocation and internment of the Japanese.
Lend-Lease Act: Established a system for the sale, exchange, or lease of war supplies from the U.S. to the Allied powers. It was responsible for a massive transfer of goods to Great Britain, and pushed the U.S. closer to war.
Marshall Plan: An economic recovery plan for Europe that sought to restore European prosperity after WWII and reinstate trade with the U.S.
McCarran Internal Security Act: Required Communist organizations to register with the government and authorized the arrest of their members during a time of emergency.
Meat Inspection Act: Passed in 1906, it worked to prevent harmful bacteria from spreading to American citizens whether it be from cattle or poultry. The primary goals of the law is to make sure meat products are processed under sanitary conditions.
Medicare: Basic medical insurance for the elderly, financed through the federal government; it was created in 1965.
Medicaid: The United States health program for people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states.
Miranda v. Arizona: (1966) This case resulted in the Miranda warning, which is the formal warning that is required to be given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody before they are interrogated, in accordance with the Miranda ruling. Its purpose is to ensure the accused is aware of, and reminded of, these rights under the U.S. Constitution, and that they know they can invoke them at any time during the interview.
National Security Council: Formed in 1947 to coordinate national defense and foreign relations, consisting of the president, secretary of defense, secretary of state, and others.
National War Labor Board: Created in April 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson, its purpose was to arbitrate disputes between workers and employers in order to ensure labor reliability and productivity during the war.
Nazi-Soviet Pact: Officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939. It was a non-aggression pact under which the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany each pledged to remain neutral. It remained in effect until 22 June 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
Neutrality Act of 1939: Modified the previous act and allowed the sale of arms to Britain, France, and China.
New York Times v. United States: (1971) The ruling made it possible for the New York Times and Washington Post newspapers to publish the then-classified Pentagon Papers without risk of government censure.
Nixon Doctrine: (1969) Stated that the United States henceforth expected its allies to take care of their own military defense, but that the U.S. would aid in defense as requested. The Doctrine argued for the pursuit of peace through a partnership with American allies.
Northern Securities v. U.S.: A case in which the Supreme Court found this giant merger of railway companies was an illegal combination and restrained interstate commerce.
Office of Economic Opportunity: Federal agency that coordinated many programs of the War on Poverty between 1964 and 1975.
Peace Corps: One of the best-known New Frontier programs, it sent thousands of young men and women overseas to aid underdeveloped countries.
Platt Amendment: A amendment that required Cuba to pay debts, provide land for bases, and allow the United States to intervene to protect its interests in Cuba after the Spanish-American War.
Apollo Project: An effort which landed the first humans on the moon. This goal was first accomplished during the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969 when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed.
Pure Food and Drug Act: (1906) provided federal inspection of meat products and forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated food products and poisonous patent medicines.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation: Hoover’s most important response to the Depression, it was designed to stimulate the economy by offering loans to floundering banks and businesses. It had mild success, but did not help recovery.
Regents of University of California v. Bakke: (1978) The Court held in a closely divided decision that race could be one of the factors considered in choosing a diverse student body in university admissions decisions.
Roe v. Wade: Supreme Court case in 1973 that disallowed state laws prohibiting abortion during the 1st trimester of pregnancy and establishing guidelines for abortion in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters.
Roosevelt Corollary: An addition to the Monroe Doctrine that stated that the U.S. could intervene in the affairs of Latin America if necessary.
SALT ll: A controversial experiment of negotiations between Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev from 1977 to 1979 between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which sought to curtail the manufacture of strategic nuclear weapons.
Schecter v. U.S.: Case in which the Supreme Court found the National Recovery Administration unconstitutional.
Schenck v. United States: A Supreme Court case upholding the constitutionality of the Sedition and Espionage Acts. It convicted Charles Schenck for mailing pamphlets urging people to resist conscription.
Securities Exchange Commission: Holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other electronic securities markets in the United States.
Sedition Act: An amendment to the Espionage Act that restricted criticism of America’s involvement in the war or its government/officials.
Selective Service Act: Set up the draft system; the average age of recruits was 19, and many began to protest the draft as the war dragged on.
Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (G.I. Bill): Legislation that provided education and employment benefits for returning WWII veterans.
Social Security Administration: Established by Social Security Act of 1935, federal old-age pensions (age 65+) and unemployment insurance.
Standard Oil Co. v. United States: (1911) a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States found Standard Oil guilty of monopolizing the petroleum industry through a series of abusive and anticompetitive actions. The court's remedy was to divide Standard Oil into several competing firms.
Star Wars: The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. Critics of SDI called it, “Stars Wars”, because they thought it was unrealistic.
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT): Treaty signed in 1972 by the United States and the Soviet Union to slow the nuclear arms race.
Taft-Hartley Act: Act passed in 1947 that limited the tools available to labor unions, including closed shop and the secondary boycott.
Tennessee Valley Authority: An independent public corporation that produced cheap fertilizer, built dams and power plants, and provided cheap electricity to thousands in the South. It was denounced by some as a step towards socialism.
Treaty of Versailles: The treaty that ended World War I and created the League of Nations.
Tripartite Pact: Signed on September 27, 1940, it established the Axis Powers of World War II. The pact was signed by representatives of Germany (Adolf Hitler), Italy (foreign minister Galeazzo Ciano) and Japan (Ambassador Saburo Kurusu).
Truman Doctrine: Pronounced that the United States should aid other nations that were facing pressure, specifically in reference to the eradication of communism.
“Voice of America”: Radio station that broadcasted anti-Communist material, referred to as the “Campaign of Truth”.
Volstead Act: Established a Federal Prohibition Bureau to enforce the 18th Amendment.
Voting Rights Act of 1965: Legislation that overturned a variety of practices by which states systematically denied voter registration to minorities.
Wagner Act / National Labor Relations Act: Act that established a federal guarantee of the right to organize trade unions and collective bargaining.
War Powers Resolution: Gave the president special wartime powers, such as the power to create agencies, to censor news and media, to seize foreign-owned property, and to award government contracts freely.
Warsaw Pact: Formed by the Soviet Union in response to NATO, it included East Germany.
Washington Naval Conference: A military conference called by the administration of President Warren G. Harding and held in Washington, D.C. in 1922. It was attended by nine nations having interests in the Pacific Ocean and East Asia. Soviet Russia was not invited to the conference. It was the first international conference held in the United States and the first disarmament conference in history.
Works Progress Administration: (1935) the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects. It fed children and redistributed food, clothing, and housing.
Atomic Bomb: An explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions. The US deployed atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Axis Alliance: The enemies of the United States and its allies, its primary members were Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Domino Theory: Eisenhower’s belief that if one nation fell to communism, others would follow.
Fourteen Points: Woodrow Wilson’s plan for peace at the post-war delegation at Versailles, which included proposals for European boundaries through self-determination, principles for international conduct, and the proposal of the League of Nations. The points did not have the success Wilson desired.
Freedom Riders: Groups of blacks rode trains around the country (specifically the South) to test the willingness of southern states to comply with non-segregation law, facing mob brutality and earning the issue of civil rights national publicity.
The Great Society: Theme of Lyndon Johnson’s administration, focusing on poverty, education, and civil rights.
Harlem Renaissance: A movement of African American cultural awareness that thrived in literature, art and music.
“Iron Curtain”: Symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989.
Manhattan Project: The effort, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, which resulted in the development of the first atomic bomb during World War II.
Military-Industrial Complex: Eisenhower warned against letting military industrial production get out of hand and dictate the political policies of the U.S.
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD): A doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two opposing sides would effectively result in the destruction of both the attacker and the defender, becoming thus a war that has no victory nor any armistice but only total destruction.
New Deal: The economic and political policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Depression.
Nixon’s “Enemies List”: The informal name of what started as a list of President of the United States Richard Nixon’s major political opponents, and sent in memorandum form to John Dean on September 9, 1971. The list became public knowledge when Dean mentioned during hearings with the Senate Watergate Committee that a list existed containing those whom the president did not like
Prohibition: A ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol. This was the primary goal of the Anti-Saloon League.
“Reaganomics”: Also known as supply-side economics and called trickle-down economics by critics. The four pillars of Reagan's economic policy were to: Reduce Growth of Government spending, Reduce Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax, Reduce Government regulation, and Control the money supply to reduce inflation.
Sit-ins: A popular form of protest during the Civil Rights movement that was successfully initiated in Montgomery, and consisted of blacks simply occupying segregated areas for extended periods of time.
Submarine Warfare: First used during Civil War. Germans used in WWI U-boat sank Lusitania, part of why US entered war. WWII – pivotal role for US subs after Pearl Harbor attack destroyed Pacific fleet.
Triple Alliance: Also known as the Central Powers, it was comprised of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in World War I.
U-Boat: A German submarine; these played a key role in the U.S. intervention in the war by violating neutral shipping rights and sinking the Lusitania.
“Vietnamization”: The gradual process of the withdrawal of United States from Vietnam and the taking over of war efforts by the South Vietnamese.
Zimmerman Telegram (Note): A message from Germany to the German ambassador in Mexico that suggested that an alliance be made between Germany and Mexico should the U.S. enter the war. This message was intercepted by Americans and became a propaganda tool for entry into the war.
EVENTS
McCarthy Hearings: Held for the purpose of investigating conflicting accusations between the United States Army and Senator Joseph McCarthy. On December 2, 1954, the Senate voted to censure Senator McCarthy by a vote of 67 to 22.
Bonus Expeditionary Force: (Aka “Bonus Army”) Unemployed veterans of World War I who marched on Washington in 1932 demanding payment of service bonuses not due until 1945.
Cuban Missile Crisis: Incident between the United States and Soviet Union over the Soviet placement of nuclear weapons in Cuba.
D-Day: June 6, 1944 – The Allies invaded Normandy, France, sustaining heavy casualties but succeeding in making an entrance to France to begin Operation Overlord.
Democratic National Convention, Chicago: Held at the Chicago Coliseum from July 7 to July 11, was the scene of William Jennings Bryan's nomination as Democratic presidential candidate. Bryan's keynote "Cross of Gold" address, delivered prior to his nomination, attacked the wealthy for supporting the gold standard at the expense of the average worker.
Fall of Saigon: The capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam under communist rule.
Iran Hostage Crisis: A diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States. Fifty-two US citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamic students and militants took over the Embassy of the United States in support of the Iranian Revolution. During Carter presidency.
Iran-Contra Affair: A political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior Reagan Administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, the subject of an arms embargo. Some U.S. officials also hoped that the arms sales would secure the release of hostages and allow U.S. intelligence agencies to fund the Nicaraguan Contras.
Japanese American Internment: The removal of Japanese (Issei) from war-related areas in the United States to internment camps. They faced heavy discrimination.
The Jazz Singer: The first movie to successfully introduce sound, starring Al Jolson
Korean War: War in East Asia with American troops led by MacArthur. The war ended in a relative stalemate when Chinese troops entered, and Korea remained divided.
Lusitania: A British liner containing some American passengers that was sunk by a German U-boat, rousing popular opinion for U.S. entry into the war.
March on Washington: 200,000 civil rights activists led by MLK marched to Washington in nonviolent protest. It was here that MLK gave the famous “I have a dream” speech.
Montgomery Bus Boycott: A boycott of Montgomery buses initiated by Rosa Parks and led by Martin Luther King Jr. that succeeded in countering Montgomery’s bus segregation laws.
Nixon Resigns: Due to the effects of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon resigned as President on August 9, 1974, the first and only resignation of any U.S. President.
Paris Peace Talks: Beginning in May, 1968, negotiations between the US and North Vietnam to end bombing. Negotiations dragged on for years.
Pentagon Papers: Classified Defense Department documents on the history of the United States’ involvement in Vietnam, prepared in 1968 and leaked to the press in 1971.
Port Huron Statement: The manifesto of the American student activist movement Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), who demanded an immediate withdrawal from Vietnam.
Russo-Japanese War: February 8, 1904 – September 5, 1905 was "the first great war of the 20th century" which grew out of the rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea.
Saturday Night Massacre: The term given by political commentators to U.S. President Richard Nixon's executive dismissal of independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox, and the resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus on October 20, 1973 during the Watergate scandal.
Scopes “Monkey” Trial: A highly publicized trial where a biology teacher challenged the teaching of Darwinism. The jury convicted Scopes but the case was thrown out on a technicality. The case emphasized the appeal of fundamentalism to some Americans.
Sputnik: The first space orbiting satellite, created by the Soviet Union.
Stock Market Crash: “Black Tuesday”, October 29, 1929, the day the stock market crashed, as people began to panic and sell their shares.
Tet Offensive: A massive attack by the North Vietnamese and Vietcong that was able to overtake the American embassy in Saigon and resulted in many casualties on both sides (mainly Vietcong), including civilians.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: A company made famous when its building was set on fire, killing 146 girls who were locked inside. This tragic event led to a series of state laws improving safety conditions.
World War l: Began in the summer of 1914 and lasted until November 1918. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was the trigger. Allies (Triple Entente): UK, France, Russia (US entered war in 1917 on side of Allies). Central Powers (Triple Alliance): German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
World War ll: Begun on 1 September 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Germany. The US entered the war in 1941 after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The war in Europe ended with the capture of Berlin by Soviet and Polish troops and the subsequent German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. The war in Asia ended on 15 August 1945 when Japan agreed to surrender.
PEOPLE (INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS)
Ashcan School: A realist artistic movement that came into prominence in the United States during the early twentieth century, best known for works portraying scenes of daily life in New York's poorer neighborhoods.
Black Panthers: An African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982. The Black Panther Party achieved national and international notoriety through its involvement in the Black Power movement and in U.S. politics of the 1960s and 70s.
Bolsheviks: Members of the communist revolution in Russia who established the Soviet government in 1917.
George H. W. Bush: Served as the 41st President of the United States (1989–1993). Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency; military operations were conducted in Panama and the Persian Gulf at a time of world change; the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Soviet Union dissolved two years later.
Jimmy Carter: Served as the 39th President of the United States (1977–1981) and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. The end of his presidential tenure was marked by the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (at the end of 1979), and the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.
Fidel Castro: The communist leader of Cuba whom the United States opposed during the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis.
Chicago Seven: Seven defendants—Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, and Lee Weiner—charged with conspiracy, inciting to riot, and other charges related to protests that took place in Chicago, Illinois on the occasion of the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP): A fundraising organization of United States President Richard Nixon's administration. Besides its re-election activities, CRP employed money laundering and slush funds and was directly and actively involved in the Watergate scandal.
Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO): A federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not Communists. Many CIO leaders refused to obey that requirement, later found unconstitutional. The CIO merged with the American Federation of Labor to form the AFL-CIO in 1955.
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE): Civil rights group formed in 1942 committed to nonviolent protests to segregation.
Calvin Coolidge: Easily winning the election of 1924, he believed in as little government as possible. His primary goal was to clear the way for business, which he valued highly, reducing federal spending and lowering taxes.
Dwight D. Eisenhower: The supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe, he contrasted from MacArthur’s conservative old-guard views and presented a model of leadership to his soldiers. Republican candidate that won the election of 1952, he aggressively campaigned against Truman and for peace in Korea.
Archduke Ferdinand: The archduke of the Austro-Hungarian Empire who was assassinated, directly leading to the outbreak of World War I.
F. Scott Fitzgerald: An extremely influential novelist who distrusted American prosperity and politics and celebrated the “Jazz Age”. His works include The Great Gatsby and The Side of Paradise.
Gerald Ford: The 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974. As the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment (after the resignation of Spiro Agnew), when he became President upon Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, he became the only President of the United States who was never elected President or Vice-President.
Henry Ford: Inventor of the assembly line and owner of the Ford Motor Company.
Betty Friedan: A wife and mother who realized many of her peers felt confined by the image of suburban domesticity, which inspired her to write The Feminine Mystique.
Marcus Garvey: A prominent black nationalist from Jamaica, he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association. He attempted to create the Black Star Line, but was found guilty of mail fraud and deported.
Warren G. Harding: Elected President in 1920, on the ambiguous campaign policy, “Return to Normalcy”.
Ernest Hemingway: A well-known novelist who depicted war in a jaded tone and enduring life with dignity. He wrote A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises.
Alger Hiss: A former member of FDR’s state department who was accused by Whittaker Chambers of being an underground Communist and was charged with 5 years in jail, after which he proclaimed his innocence.
Adolf Hitler: Chancellor of Germany, he was the instigator of WWII and responsible for the extermination of over 6 million Jews.
Herbert Hoover: Appointed by President Wilson to lead the Food Administration, where he succeeded in instituting voluntary controls on food prices that were necessary to help the war effort. Secretary of commerce during the Harding and Coolidge presidencies, he was elected president in 1928. He valued individualism and efficiency and sought to actively assist the business community.
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC): Organization founded in 1945 to root out pro-Fascists that later investigated propaganda against the government or anything deemed “un-American”.
Lyndon B. Johnson: Successor of JFK after he was assassinated, the theme of his administration was the Great Society.
John F. Kennedy: Democrat elected in 1960 over Richard Nixon, he promoted the New Frontier policy and entered the presidency dramatically.
Robert Kennedy: Attorney General during the Kennedy administration, he was and influential civil rights activist, interfering in allowing the first black student into the University of Mississippi. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in 1968 who supported civil rights, and was on course to win until he was assassinated.
Martin Luther King Jr.: Leader of the Civil Rights movement and leader of the SCLC who admired Mohandas Ghandi and was murdered.
Henry Kissinger: A diplomat who insisted that the United States should not appear weak and aggressively pursued the Vietnam War.
Nikita Khrushchev: Successor of Josef Stalin as Premier of the Soviet Union, he made a 12-day trip to America and called for a summit in Paris to discuss disarmament.
Sinclair Lewis: Most acclaimed novelist of the 1920s who focused on satire. His works include Main Street and Babbit.
Charles Lindbergh: Completed the first transatlantic airplane flight in 1927, the landing of which was popularized by new forms of media.
General Douglas MacArthur: Supreme commander of Allied forces in the Pacific, he was extremely conservative and was said to admire the German army.
Joseph McCarthy: A Republican senator for Wisconsin who was known for his claims that he had evidence of conspiracies and was fiercely anti-communist.
James Meredith: The first African American student at the University of Mississippi in 1962, an event that was a flashpoint in the American civil rights movement.
Muckrakers: People involved in the act of seeking out the negative aspects of society and dramatizing them in a published work; also known as “exposure journalism”.
Benito Mussolini: The Fascist dictator of Italy during WWII.
NAACP: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People – an interracial organization supported by W.E.B. Du Bois that fought for political and social equality.
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration – Agency developed to compete with the Soviet Union in the space race.
National Organization for Women (NOW): Led campaigns for laws banning sex discrimination in work and education, for maternity leaves for working mothers, and for government funding of day-care centers.
National Women’s Suffrage Association ( NWSA): A radical all-women group that demanded a wide spectrum of rights for women, including suffrage, and based on the Declaration of Sentiments.
Richard Nixon: Elected President in 1968, over Hubert Humphrey. He resigned in 1974 as a result of Watergate.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): A treaty of defense among 10 European countries, the U.S., and Canada that complemented the Marshall Plan, strengthening economic ties.
Sandra Day O’Connor: The first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006.
Organization of American States (OAS): A regional international organization, whose members are the thirty-five independent states of the American Continent. The Charter of the Organization of American States was signed by 21 countries on 30 April 1948. The goal of the OAS was to achieve an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, to strengthen their collaboration, and to defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity, and their independence.
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC): An intergovernmental organization of twelve developing countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. One of the principal goals is the determination of the best means for safeguarding the organization's interests, individually and collectively. It also pursues ways and means of ensuring the stabilization of prices in international oil markets.
Progressive: A political attitude favoring or advocating changes or reform through governmental action. Progressivism is often viewed in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.
Ronald Reagan: The 40th President of the United States (1981–1989), the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975) and prior to that, an actor. In his first term he survived an assassination attempt, took a hard line against labor unions, and ordered military actions in Grenada. He was reelected in a landslide in 1984. Publicly describing the Soviet Union as an "evil empire," he supported anti-Communist movements worldwide.
Jacob Riis: A journalist and author of How the Other Half Lives.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Served 3 terms as president beginning in 1932 who suffered from polio, which gave him patience and determination. He was previously the governor of New York.
Theodore Roosevelt: Elected president in 1904 (after having served 3 years after President McKinley was assassinated). He was the youngest man to ever hold office as president, preached the value of “the strenuous life”, and ran in the election of 1912 for the Progressive Party.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg: A government engineer and his wife who were accused of conveying atomic secrets to the Soviet government and who eventually were put to the electric chair.
Sacco and Vanzetti: Two Italian immigrants who were charged with murder. Their trial and eventual conviction displayed the nativist and anti-immigrant nature of the court system.
Margaret Sanger: Promoted birth control techniques on a national scale, and was thrown in jail multiple times.
Upton Sinclair: Author of the muckraking novel, The Jungle, which exposed the filthy sanitation and working conditions of the Chicago stockyards.
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO): Created by the United States prior to the Vietnam War in the attempt to expel communism from the region.
Southern Christian Leadership Conference: Black civil rights organization founded by Martin Luther King, Jr. and other members of the church to promote nonviolent protest.
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee: Black civil rights organization founded in 1960 that drew heavily on younger activists and college students in nonviolent protest.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS): Organization of college students that demanded an immediate withdrawal from Vietnam.
William Howard Taft: The 27th President of the United States (1909-1913) and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States (1921-1930). Taft's domestic agenda emphasized trust-busting, civil service reform, strengthening the Interstate Commerce Commission, improving the performance of the postal service, and passage of the Sixteenth Amendment. Abroad, Taft sought to further the economic development of underdeveloped nations in Latin America and Asia through "Dollar Diplomacy".
Hideki Tojo: The 40th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II. As Prime Minister, he was responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor, which led to the United States entering World War II. After the end of the war, Tojo was sentenced to death for war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and hanged on 23 December 1948.
Harry S. Truman: Succeeded the presidency after FDR, oversaw the end of WWII, and authorized the dropping of the two atomic bombs.
United Nations: An organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security.
The Urban League: A nonpartisan civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States. It is the oldest and largest community-based organization of its kind in the nation.
Earl Warren: Appointed the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court during Brown v. Board of Education, he influenced the Court to come to a decision and declare segregation unconstitutional.
Woodrow Wilson: A Democrat elected president in 1912, he followed the lead of Roosevelt by using his position for activism, though he was cautious on social issues.
The Wright Brothers: Two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903.
PLACES
Bay of Pigs: A failed American invasion of Cuba. The invasion force was led by the CIA.
Berlin Wall: A barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin.
Camp David: The country retreat of the President of the United States and his guests. Camp David received its present name from Dwight D. Eisenhower, in honor of his grandson, David.
Gulf of Tonkin: In August 1964, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson claimed that North Vietnamese forces had twice attacked American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. Known today as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, this event led to open war between North Vietnam and the United States.
Hiroshima: The location of the first atomic bombing of Japan. The bomb inflicted massive destruction
Los Alamos: In New Mexico, it was the location for the Manhattan Project.
Nagasaki: The location of the second atomic bomb dropping in Japan.
Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941 – Japanese air forces attacked this location in Hawaii, destroying much of the American navy and leading to the American declaration of war.
Potsdam: Location for Potsdam Conference, a meeting held just outside Berlin among Truman, Churchill, and Stalin whose post-war views differed, but the necessity for the surrender of Japan was agreed upon. Here Truman received the news of the successful testing of the atomic bomb.
Three Mile Island: A nuclear power plant in PA, it was the site of the nuclear core meltdown in 1979.
Watergate: Hotel where wiretaps were placed and it turned into a complex scandal involving attempts to cover up illegal actions taken by administration officials and leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.
Yalta: Location of Yalta Conference, a meeting between FDR, Churchill, and Stalin that was governed by each countries desires for “spheres of influence” and which guaranteed a Soviet declaration of war on Japan within 2 months of Germany’s surrender.
POLICIES, AGREEMENTS, COURT RULINGS, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
16th Amendment: Authorized a federal income tax. This was utilized by President Woodrow Wilson, who imposed a graduated income tax.
17th Amendment: Established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote; adopted on April 8, 1913.
18th Amendment: Established Prohibition in the United States. Its ratification was certified on January 16, 1919.
19th Amendment: Prohibits any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920.
21st Amendment: Repealed prohibition.
Abrams v. United States: A 7-2 decision of the United States Supreme Court involving the 1918 Amendment to the Espionage Act of 1917. The defendants were charged and convicted for inciting resistance to the war effort and for urging curtailment of production of essential war material.
Agricultural Adjustment Act: Part of the New Deal to provide immediate relief for farmers. It set the benchmark for the future for setting prices of farm commodities, and the AAA also utilized subsidies.
Atlantic Charter: An agreement drawn up by Churchill and FDR that called for free trade, disarmament, and an end to territorial expansion after the war.
Baker v. Carr: (1962) In a 6-2 ruling, the Supreme Court held that federal courts have the power to determine the constitutionality of a State's voting districts.
Brown v. Board of Education: A collective group of court cases initiated by Thurgood Marshall that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and declared that segregation violated the Constitution.
Central Intelligence Agency: Organization formed in 1947 that coordinates the gathering and evaluation of military and economic information regarding foreign nations.
Civil Rights Act of 1964: Prohibited discrimination in public facilities, outlawed bias in federal assistance programs, and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Civilian Conservation Corps: Part of the New Deal during the “Hundred Days” that was established to aid unemployment by providing work for young men in protecting the nation’s natural resources (i.e. road construction, reforestation, flood control).
Clayton Antitrust Act: The act that replaced the Sherman Antitrust Act and protected unions and strikers from federal courts, while still monitoring trusts.
Containment: A United States policy using military, economic, and diplomatic strategies to stall the spread of communism.
Department of Housing and Urban Development: Founded as a Cabinet department in 1965, as part of the "Great Society" program of President Lyndon Johnson, to develop and execute policies on housing and metropolises.
Eisenhower Doctrine: A country could request American economic assistance and/or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression from another state.
Emergency Banking Relief Bill: An act of Congress under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. It was passed on March 9, 1933. The act allowed a plan that would close down insolvent banks and reorganize and reopen those banks strong enough to survive.
Emergency Quota Act: (1921) It restricted immigration into the United States and it added 2 new features to American immigration law: numerical limits on immigration from Europe and the use of a quota system for establishing those limits.
Engle v. Vitale: (1962), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that determined that it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and require its recitation in public schools.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Federal agency created in 1970 to oversee environmental monitoring and cleanup programs.
Equal Rights Amendment: Called for equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and, in 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time. In 1972, it passed both houses of Congress, but failed to gain ratification before its June 30, 1982 deadline.
Espionage Act: Law that prohibited obstructing America’s war effort; it was used to suppress dissent and criticism, such as that of the radical labor movement.
Fair Labor Standards Act: (1938) established a national minimum wage, guaranteed 'time-and-a-half' for overtime in certain jobs, and prohibited most employment of minors in "oppressive child labor".
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: Created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks.
Federal Emergency Relief Act: Set up Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which gave $250 million as direct relief to states and apportioned another $250 million on the basis of a $1 for every $3 of state/local relief. This policy was direct relief, differing from Hoover’s loans.
Federal Highway Act: Authorized $32 billion for the construction of an interstate highway system. It was funded by new taxes and generated and enhanced many industries, such as trucking and oil.
Federal Reserve Act: An act that created 12 Federal Reserve Banks, helping the government to regulate the amount of currency in circulation and diminishing the power of private banks.
Federal Trade Commission Act: Created Federal Trade Commsion – it had regulatory control over large businesses, similar to the ICC’s control of railroads.
Fordney-McCumber Act: (1922) raised American tariffs in order to protect factories and farms. Congress displayed a pro-business attitude in passing the tariff and in promoting foreign trade through providing huge loans to Europe, which in turn bought more American goods.
Full Employment Act: (Aka Employment Act of 1946) Its main purpose was to lay the responsibility of economic stability of inflation and unemployment onto the federal government.
Geneva Conference/ Accord: An agreement in 1956 that called for a reunification of Vietnam and national elections. The United States did not sign this agreement.
Gideon v. Wainwright: In 1963, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that state courts are required under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution to provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants who are unable to afford their own attorneys.
Glass-Steagall Banking Act: (1933)a law that established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the United States and introduced banking reforms, some of which were designed to control speculation.
Good Neighbor Policy: The American view under Presidents Garfield and Harrison that high levels of economic participation in other countries would be more beneficial than outright conquest.
Hawley-Smoot Tariff: Signed into law on June 17, 1930, it raised U.S. tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods to record levels. The overall level tariffs under the Tariff were the second-highest in US history, exceeded by a small margin only by the Tariff of 1828 and the ensuing retaliatory tariffs by U.S. trading partners reduced American exports and imports by more than half.
Helsinki Accord: During July and August 1, 1975, 35 states, including the USA, Canada, and all European states except Albania and Andorra, signed the declaration in an attempt to improve relations between the Communist bloc and the West.
Kellogg-Briand Pact: Also known as the Pact of Paris, it renounced war on principle grandly.
Korematsu v. U.S.: The Supreme Court Case that upheld the constitutionality of the relocation and internment of the Japanese.
Lend-Lease Act: Established a system for the sale, exchange, or lease of war supplies from the U.S. to the Allied powers. It was responsible for a massive transfer of goods to Great Britain, and pushed the U.S. closer to war.
Marshall Plan: An economic recovery plan for Europe that sought to restore European prosperity after WWII and reinstate trade with the U.S.
McCarran Internal Security Act: Required Communist organizations to register with the government and authorized the arrest of their members during a time of emergency.
Meat Inspection Act: Passed in 1906, it worked to prevent harmful bacteria from spreading to American citizens whether it be from cattle or poultry. The primary goals of the law is to make sure meat products are processed under sanitary conditions.
Medicare: Basic medical insurance for the elderly, financed through the federal government; it was created in 1965.
Medicaid: The United States health program for people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states.
Miranda v. Arizona: (1966) This case resulted in the Miranda warning, which is the formal warning that is required to be given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody before they are interrogated, in accordance with the Miranda ruling. Its purpose is to ensure the accused is aware of, and reminded of, these rights under the U.S. Constitution, and that they know they can invoke them at any time during the interview.
National Security Council: Formed in 1947 to coordinate national defense and foreign relations, consisting of the president, secretary of defense, secretary of state, and others.
National War Labor Board: Created in April 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson, its purpose was to arbitrate disputes between workers and employers in order to ensure labor reliability and productivity during the war.
Nazi-Soviet Pact: Officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939. It was a non-aggression pact under which the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany each pledged to remain neutral. It remained in effect until 22 June 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
Neutrality Act of 1939: Modified the previous act and allowed the sale of arms to Britain, France, and China.
New York Times v. United States: (1971) The ruling made it possible for the New York Times and Washington Post newspapers to publish the then-classified Pentagon Papers without risk of government censure.
Nixon Doctrine: (1969) Stated that the United States henceforth expected its allies to take care of their own military defense, but that the U.S. would aid in defense as requested. The Doctrine argued for the pursuit of peace through a partnership with American allies.
Northern Securities v. U.S.: A case in which the Supreme Court found this giant merger of railway companies was an illegal combination and restrained interstate commerce.
Office of Economic Opportunity: Federal agency that coordinated many programs of the War on Poverty between 1964 and 1975.
Peace Corps: One of the best-known New Frontier programs, it sent thousands of young men and women overseas to aid underdeveloped countries.
Platt Amendment: A amendment that required Cuba to pay debts, provide land for bases, and allow the United States to intervene to protect its interests in Cuba after the Spanish-American War.
Apollo Project: An effort which landed the first humans on the moon. This goal was first accomplished during the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969 when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed.
Pure Food and Drug Act: (1906) provided federal inspection of meat products and forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated food products and poisonous patent medicines.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation: Hoover’s most important response to the Depression, it was designed to stimulate the economy by offering loans to floundering banks and businesses. It had mild success, but did not help recovery.
Regents of University of California v. Bakke: (1978) The Court held in a closely divided decision that race could be one of the factors considered in choosing a diverse student body in university admissions decisions.
Roe v. Wade: Supreme Court case in 1973 that disallowed state laws prohibiting abortion during the 1st trimester of pregnancy and establishing guidelines for abortion in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters.
Roosevelt Corollary: An addition to the Monroe Doctrine that stated that the U.S. could intervene in the affairs of Latin America if necessary.
SALT ll: A controversial experiment of negotiations between Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev from 1977 to 1979 between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which sought to curtail the manufacture of strategic nuclear weapons.
Schecter v. U.S.: Case in which the Supreme Court found the National Recovery Administration unconstitutional.
Schenck v. United States: A Supreme Court case upholding the constitutionality of the Sedition and Espionage Acts. It convicted Charles Schenck for mailing pamphlets urging people to resist conscription.
Securities Exchange Commission: Holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other electronic securities markets in the United States.
Sedition Act: An amendment to the Espionage Act that restricted criticism of America’s involvement in the war or its government/officials.
Selective Service Act: Set up the draft system; the average age of recruits was 19, and many began to protest the draft as the war dragged on.
Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (G.I. Bill): Legislation that provided education and employment benefits for returning WWII veterans.
Social Security Administration: Established by Social Security Act of 1935, federal old-age pensions (age 65+) and unemployment insurance.
Standard Oil Co. v. United States: (1911) a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States found Standard Oil guilty of monopolizing the petroleum industry through a series of abusive and anticompetitive actions. The court's remedy was to divide Standard Oil into several competing firms.
Star Wars: The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. Critics of SDI called it, “Stars Wars”, because they thought it was unrealistic.
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT): Treaty signed in 1972 by the United States and the Soviet Union to slow the nuclear arms race.
Taft-Hartley Act: Act passed in 1947 that limited the tools available to labor unions, including closed shop and the secondary boycott.
Tennessee Valley Authority: An independent public corporation that produced cheap fertilizer, built dams and power plants, and provided cheap electricity to thousands in the South. It was denounced by some as a step towards socialism.
Treaty of Versailles: The treaty that ended World War I and created the League of Nations.
Tripartite Pact: Signed on September 27, 1940, it established the Axis Powers of World War II. The pact was signed by representatives of Germany (Adolf Hitler), Italy (foreign minister Galeazzo Ciano) and Japan (Ambassador Saburo Kurusu).
Truman Doctrine: Pronounced that the United States should aid other nations that were facing pressure, specifically in reference to the eradication of communism.
“Voice of America”: Radio station that broadcasted anti-Communist material, referred to as the “Campaign of Truth”.
Volstead Act: Established a Federal Prohibition Bureau to enforce the 18th Amendment.
Voting Rights Act of 1965: Legislation that overturned a variety of practices by which states systematically denied voter registration to minorities.
Wagner Act / National Labor Relations Act: Act that established a federal guarantee of the right to organize trade unions and collective bargaining.
War Powers Resolution: Gave the president special wartime powers, such as the power to create agencies, to censor news and media, to seize foreign-owned property, and to award government contracts freely.
Warsaw Pact: Formed by the Soviet Union in response to NATO, it included East Germany.
Washington Naval Conference: A military conference called by the administration of President Warren G. Harding and held in Washington, D.C. in 1922. It was attended by nine nations having interests in the Pacific Ocean and East Asia. Soviet Russia was not invited to the conference. It was the first international conference held in the United States and the first disarmament conference in history.
Works Progress Administration: (1935) the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects. It fed children and redistributed food, clothing, and housing.