Unit 1 test Flashcards
American Federation of Labor
One of the first federations, or groups, of labor unions. It was founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886. The AFL began as a group of craft unions and was more concerned with the working conditions of its members than with political goals.
Assembly line
A manufacturing process of machines and workers in which a product passes from one operation to the next in a direct line until it is completed.
Bolshevik Revolution
The second rebellion to take place in Russia in 1917, also known as the October Revolution. The government was overthrown by the Bolsheviks, or Communists. Power then belonged to the workers, and then later to the state, which owned everything in the name of the people.
Clarence Darrow
(1857 – 1938) An American lawyer. He is best known for defending John Scopes, who was on trial for teaching the theory of evolution in a Tennessee school.
Fordism
The economic and social consequences of Henry Ford’s development of mass production. Lower production costs allowed ordinary people to buy more goods
Herbert Hoover
(1874-1964) The 31st president of the United States. The Great Depression began during his presidency.
Palmer Raids
A series of attempts by the U.S. Department of Justice to arrest and deport, or send out of the country, immigrants with extreme political opinions or who were suspected of supporting America’s enemies in World War I. A. Mitchell Palmer was the U.S. attorney general.
First Red Scare
The widespread fear of communism that gripped the United States after World War I. The success of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, along with accusations of violence committed by American communists, led U.S. authorities to investigate, search, and arrest thousands of suspected communists.
Red Summer
The violent conflicts that took place during the summer of 1919 in over 30 American cities between blacks and whites. Most of these riots involved attacks on African Americans by whites, including white police officers and soldiers. During the conflicts, over 50 African Americans were killed, and hundreds more were injured.
Sacco and Vanzetti trial
The trial of two Italian immigrants who were convicted of murder and eventually executed, or put to death. They were members of an anarchist group, or a group of people who do not believe in government. Many people felt that the trials were not fair.
Scopes Trial
Also known as the Monkey Trial. Teacher John Scopes was charged with teaching the theory of evolution. Teaching this theory was against the law in Tennessee. He was convicted.
Teapot Dome Scandal
The secret leasing, or renting, of oil-rich government land to certain oil companies. The government official who was responsible, Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall, was convicted for taking money in return for making these leases.
The Birth of a Nation
A 1915 silent movie that showed members of the Ku Klux Klan as heroes. Race riots broke out in some cities where the movie was played, and after protests by African American groups, it was not allowed in some cities of the North.
Theory of Evolution
The theory that all living things slowly change and grow over time to be able to survive better.
Xenophobia
Fear of foreigners.
A. Phillip Randolph
(1889 – 1979) Randolph was the head of the nation’s best known black labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping-Car Porters. He was widely respected by white political leaders, particularly liberals.
Black Nationalism
The belief that African Americans should maintain pride in their culture, history, and African roots. Black nationalists support the creation of communities and businesses managed by African Americans.
Black Star Line
A shipping line — created by an African American, Marcus Garvey — that was intended to provide shipping services for African American businesses and passengers.
Harlem Renaissance
A term that describes the increase of African American art, literature, and music in the 1920s and 1930s. The movement was named after the neighborhood in New York City where many African Americans lived.
Langston Hughes
(1902 – 1967) An African American writer, best known for his poetry and his writing during the Harlem Renaissance.
League of Women Voters
An organization which encourages voting and citizen participation at all levels of government. The league is nonpartisan and does not support any party, issue, or candidate.
Margaret Sanger
(1879 – 1966) An American women’s rights activist. She is best remembered for founding the American Birth Control League, an organization that fought for the right of women to obtain birth control.
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, an organization founded in 1909. Its purpose is to work for equal rights for all people and stop hatred between races.
NAWSA
The National American Woman Suffrage Association, a women’s rights organization formed in 1890. It supported many women’s rights issues but mainly worked for women’s right to vote.
Niagara Movement
A civil rights organization that was formed in 1905 by W. E. B. DuBois, William Monroe Trotter, and several other African American leaders. It lasted until 1910, when its members joined a new, larger civil rights group, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP.
Nineteenth Amendment
The amendment to the U.S. Constitution that gave women the right to vote. The amendment was ratified, or passed, in 1920.
Paul Robeson
(1898 – 1976) An actor, singer, and supporter of civil rights who turned to Communism in his fight against racial inequality in America.
UNIA
The Universal Negro Improvement Association, established by Marcus Garvey. Its purpose was to work for the improvement of conditions for people of African ancestry.
Black Cabinet
A group of African Americans first known as the Federal Council of Negro Affairs. This group gave opinions about public policy to President Franklin Roosevelt.
Bonus Army March
The protest organized by World War I veterans who were demanding payment of the service bonus they had been promised after the war.
Capitalism
A social and economic system in which the capital, or money, and the means of production, factories and machines, are privately owned. Labor and products are traded or sold in markets, and the profits are given to owners of the capital.
CCC
Civilian Conservation Corps, one of the New Deal programs of President Franklin Roosevelt. Between 1933 and 1942, it employed, or put to work, millions of people to make improvements on public lands.
Dust Bowl
An area in the Great Plains of the United States that had terrible dust storms in the 1930s. High winds, very little rain, and poor farming practices made it easy for huge clouds of dirt to form. Fields were ruined, buildings and equipment were buried in dust, and the rich farm soil ended up as far away as the Atlantic Ocean. Thousands of farms failed, and farm families moved away.
Eighteenth Amendment
An amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1919 that made it against the law to make, sell, or transport alcohol for the purpose of drinking. It was repealed, or stopped, by the Twenty-First Amendment in 1933.
Eleanor Roosevelt
(1884 – 1962) The wife of President Franklin Roosevelt. She was involved in helping to carry out some of her husband’s policies and in civil rights activities. She was appointed to the United Nations General Assembly by President Truman in 1945 and worked on human rights issues there.
Father Charles Coughlin
(1891 – 1979) A Roman Catholic priest who used the radio to reach large groups of listeners during the 1920s and 1930s. His talks were about politics and the economy rather than religion. He was sometimes called the “father of Hate Radio” because he spoke against Jews.
FDIC
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a New Deal program started in 1933 by the Glass-Steagall Act. Its purpose is to protect money that people put into their bank accounts.
FHA
Federal Housing Administration, a New Deal agency created in 1934. Its main purposes are to improve housing standards and conditions and to insure home loans.
Fireside Chats
A series of radio speeches given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1944. He used the radio to speak directly to the American people about issues affecting the country.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
(1882 – 1945) The 32nd president of the United States. He was the only president elected to four terms. He led the country out of the Great Depression with a number of social programs called the New Deal. He led the United States through most of World War II.
Glass-Steagall Act
A banking law passed in 1933 to set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insured, or protected, the money people put into banks. The act also established banking rules, most of which are no longer in effect.
Great Depression
A worldwide economic crisis that lasted from late 1929 until World War II.
Hoover Dam
Also known as Boulder Dam, it is located on the border between Arizona and Nevada. It dams the Colorado River to form Lake Mead and produces a large amount of electricity.
Hooverville
A name given to short-lived towns of shacks and tents built by homeless people during the Great Depression.
