Unit 1 test Flashcards
(111 cards)
1
Q
American Federation of Labor
A
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.
2
Q
Assembly line
A
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.
3
Q
Bolshevik Revolution
A
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.
4
Q
Clarence Darrow
A
(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.
5
Q
Fordism
A
The economic and social consequences of Henry Ford’s development of mass production. Lower production costs allowed ordinary people to buy more goods
6
Q
Herbert Hoover
A
(1874-1964) The 31st president of the United States. The Great Depression began during his presidency.
7
Q
Palmer Raids
A
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.
8
Q
First Red Scare
A
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.
9
Q
Red Summer
A
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.
10
Q
Sacco and Vanzetti trial
A
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.
11
Q
Scopes Trial
A
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.
12
Q
Teapot Dome Scandal
A
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.
13
Q
The Birth of a Nation
A
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.
14
Q
Theory of Evolution
A
The theory that all living things slowly change and grow over time to be able to survive better.
15
Q
Xenophobia
A
Fear of foreigners.
16
Q
A. Phillip Randolph
A
(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.
17
Q
Black Nationalism
A
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.
18
Q
Black Star Line
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A shipping line — created by an African American, Marcus Garvey — that was intended to provide shipping services for African American businesses and passengers.
19
Q
Harlem Renaissance
A
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.
20
Q
Langston Hughes
A
(1902 – 1967) An African American writer, best known for his poetry and his writing during the Harlem Renaissance.
21
Q
League of Women Voters
A
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.
22
Q
Margaret Sanger
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(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.
23
Q
NAACP
A
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.
24
Q
NAWSA
A
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.
25
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.
26
Nineteenth Amendment
The amendment to the U.S. Constitution that gave women the right to vote. The amendment was ratified, or passed, in 1920.
27
Paul Robeson
(1898 – 1976) An actor, singer, and supporter of civil rights who turned to Communism in his fight against racial inequality in America.
28
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.
29
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.
30
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.
31
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.
32
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.
33
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.
34
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.
35
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.
36
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.
37
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.
38
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.
39
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.
40
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.
41
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.
42
Great Depression
A worldwide economic crisis that lasted from late 1929 until World War II.
43
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.
44
Hooverville
A name given to short-lived towns of shacks and tents built by homeless people during the Great Depression.
45
Huey Long
(1893 – 1935) United States senator and governor of Louisiana. He had strong populist ideas and had plans to "share the wealth" through taxes and laws against large salaries. He was known for his complete control over the government of Louisiana.
46
Hundred Days
The first 100 days of President Franklin Roosevelt's presidency. It was during this period that he started the programs of his New Deal to help the country out of the Great Depression.
47
Mary McLeod Bethune
(1875 – 1955) An African American teacher and civil rights leader. She started a school for African Americans in Florida that eventually became an excellent university. She was an adviser to President Franklin Roosevelt.
48
National Labor Relations Board
An agency of the U.S. government. Its main purposes are to look into unfair labor practices and to organize elections to see if workers want to belong to labor unions.
49
New Deal
A series of economic programs passed by Congress in Franklin Roosevelt's first term as president. These programs and policies were intended to help America get out of the Great Depression.
50
Okie
A name given to a migrant from Oklahoma. The term was used in John Steinbeck's book The Grapes of Wrath.
51
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
A government agency set up in 1932 under President Hoover. Its purpose was to give financial aid to the states and to loan money to banks, railroads, and other businesses. The agency continued to work under Roosevelt's New Deal.
52
SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission, a New Deal agency started in 1934. Its responsibility is to watch over and make necessary rules for the securities industry. Securities are documents, or papers, such as stocks, bonds, and banknotes that have financial value.
53
Second New Deal
Programs set up several years after Roosevelt's New Deal. One of these programs was the Social Security system.
54
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
A law passed in 1930 that raised tariffs, or taxes, on over 20,000 goods that were imported into the United States. Other countries did the same, and the American economy was damaged.
55
Social Security
An insurance program run by the federal government for people who have quit working because of age or injury.
56
Speakeasies
Places that sold alcoholic drinks during the time that it was against the law to sell alcohol.
57
The Grapes of Wrath
A novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. It tells the story of a poor family of farmers who are forced off their Oklahoma farm during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.
58
TVA
Tennessee Valley Authority, a New Deal government agency that was started in 1933. It was established to control floods, help shipping, and produce electricity for the Tennessee Valley.
59
Unemployed councils
Groups organized by the Communist Party of America during the Great Depression. They were made up of people who had lost their jobs and had no money. They pushed for more help from their landlords and from government agencies.
60
WPA
Works Progress Administration, later named Works Projects Administration, the largest New Deal agency. It was founded in 1935 and was responsible for giving jobs to millions of workers on public works projects.
61
NWP
The National Woman's Party, an organization established in 1913 to fight for women's suffrage, or the right to vote. During the 1960s, the NWP worked for the addition of an equal rights amendment to the Constitution banning gender discrimination.
62
Adolf Hitler
(1889 – 1945) German leader during World War II. He led the Nazi Party and ruled Germany as a dictator from 1933 until his death at the end of World War II. He was responsible for the murder of up to 17 million civilians, or people who aren't in the armed forces, including 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust.
63
Appeasement
A foreign policy designed to avoid armed conflict. The term is most often applied to British leader Neville Chamberlain, who used appeasement to try to avoid war with Germany before World War II.
64
Atlantic Charter
A 1941 agreement between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, the leaders of the United States and Great Britain, which stated that they believed the world should be more democratic after World War II.
65
Atomic Bomb
A bomb that gets its enormous destructive power from nuclear energy. It was used by the United States against Japan to end World War II.
66
Bataan Death March
A 60-mile forced march of nearly 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war, who were held by the Japanese army in the Philippines, in 1942. Brutal treatment by the Japanese army caused the deaths of more than 25 percent of the prisoners on the march.
67
Battle of Guadalcanal
A 1942 battle on the Pacific island of Guadalcanal. It was the first major battle between Japan and the Allied forces. It was an Allied victory and led to more victories over Japan in the Pacific.
68
Battle of Iwo Jima
The battle fought between the United States and Japan for the Pacific island of Iwo Jima in February and March 1945. The United States won this battle.
69
Battle of Leyte Gulf
A World War II naval battle between the United States and Japan that is sometimes referred to as the Second Battle for the Philippines. It was fought in late October 1944 near the Philippine Islands and was the largest naval battle of World War II. The Allies won this battle, which helped lead to the defeat of Japan.
70
Battle of Midway
An important naval battle in the Pacific Ocean in June 1942. The U.S. Navy defeated the Japanese navy, which never fully recovered from the battle.
71
Battle of the Bulge
A major German attack against Allied forces in Belgium in December 1944 and January 1945. More than 19,000 Americans were killed, making this the bloodiest battle for American troops in World War II.
72
Benito Mussolini
(1883 – 1945) The leader of Italy during World War II. Italy joined Germany to fight against the Allied countries. He was a leader in creating Fascism, a belief in an authoritarian government.
73
Blitzkrieg
German for "lightning war." It refers to the policy of using strong, quick-moving armed forces to break through enemy lines. The term generally refers to German military activities in World War II.
74
Bracero Program
A program started in 1942 that brought millions of farmworkers into the United States from Mexico.
75
Concentration Camps
Prisons established by the Nazi government of Germany for people who were against the government. During World War II, other people were put in the camps, including Jews, Polish citizens, gypsies, homosexuals, people with disabilities, and prisoners of war. These camps became extermination, or death camps, when the Germans started killing all of the camps' Jewish prisoners, as well as other "undesirables."
76
D Day
June 6, 1944, the day that the Allied countries invaded France to fight the German army there.
77
Doolittle Raid
An air raid, or attack, on Japan by United States forces in 1942 led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle. This was to retaliate, or get even, for the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan on December 7, 1941, and to show that Japan could be attacked.
78
"Double V" Campaign
A campaign started by the Pittsburgh Courier, America's largest African American newspaper, after the United States entered World War II. The double V stood for victory at home over racial inequality and victory overseas in the war.
79
Douglas MacArthur
(1880 – 1964) An American military leader who was important in World War II in the Pacific. After the war, he was in charge of Japan until the peace treaty was signed. He led United Nations forces in Korea and was fired by President Truman for disagreeing with Truman's Korean policy.
80
Dwight D. Eisenhower
(1890 – 1969) The 34th president of the United States. He is best known for his military leadership in World War II throughout the invasion of Normandy and the defeat of Germany. During his presidency, the Korean War ended, the Cold War with the Soviet Union continued, and the Interstate Highway System was started.
81
Emperor Hirohito
(1901 – 1989) The emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989.
82
Fascism
A political philosophy based on the belief in an authoritarian government, in which the state controls businesses and markets for the good of the state. This is different from Communism, in which the state control of business is for the good of the people. Fascists believe that violence and war are actions that help unite the country.
83
Harry Truman
(1884 – 1972) The 33rd president of the United States. He took over when President Franklin Roosevelt died just a few months after beginning his fourth term. Truman ordered the use of the atomic bomb at the end of World War II and led the country through the first years of the Cold War.
84
Holocaust
The term used to describe the murder of 6 million Jews by the Nazi government of Germany during World War II. The German goal was to rid the world of all Jews. At the same time, the Germans murdered millions of other people. The total number of Holocaust deaths is between 11 and 17 million people.
85
Internment Camps
An area where Japanese Americans were forced to live during World War II. Because the United States was at war with Japan, these people were thought to be a danger to the United States. They were kept in these camps, under guard, until 1945. In 1988, the U.S. government apologized for these actions and paid money to the former prisoners.
86
Island Hopping
A plan by the United States armed forces to use islands in the Pacific Ocean as places where planes and ships could get fuel and other supplies to help in the fighting against Japan during World War II.
87
Joseph Stalin
(1879 – 1953) The leader of the Soviet Union from 1927 until 1953. He was a powerful dictator who killed or sent out of the country millions of people that he believed were dangerous to the country. The Soviet Union was one of the Allied countries fighting against Germany in World War II.
88
Kamikazes
Kamikaze is a Japanese word that means "divine wind." It refers to Japanese fighter pilots who flew their planes into Allied ships in an attempt to destroy them.
89
Korematsu vs. United States
A Supreme Court case in 1944 in which the Court said the government did not break the law or go against the Constitution when it put thousands of Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II.
90
Kristallnacht
German for "crystal night," also known as the Night of the Broken Glass. This was an attack on Jewish property and people in Germany and Austria on November 9, 1938. Thousands of homes, businesses, and synagogues were destroyed. Nearly 100 people were killed, and up to 30,000 people were sent to concentration camps.
91
Lend-Lease Act of 1941
The law that allowed the United States to supply the Allied countries with war material during World War II. This was a way for America to help without entering the war, until it was forced to by the attack on Pearl Harbor.
92
Manhattan Project
A secret military project led by the United States. This project produced the atomic bomb.
93
March on Washington
A march that was scheduled to take place on July 1, 1941. Organized by A. Philip Randolph, the march was intended to protest against segregation in the military. The march was canceled when Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order to stop discrimination in the defense industry.
94
Munich Conference
A September 1938 meeting involving the leaders of Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy. The meeting was called in response to Adolf Hitler's demands to annex, or take over, the Sudetenland, a German-speaking region in Czechoslovakia. The meeting ended with the Munich Agreement, which allowed Germany to annex the region.
95
National War Labor Board
A federal agency re-established in 1942 by Franklin Roosevelt. It worked out labor agreements between employers in the defense industry and labor unions in order to prevent strikes that might hurt the war effort.
96
Nazi Party
A German political party established in 1919 and led by Adolf Hitler between 1921 and 1945. The Nazis believed that Germans belonged to a superior Aryan race, and tried to unite Europe's German-speaking people into a Fascist empire. The Nazis tried to remove Jews and other minorities from German society by placing them in concentration camps, where millions died in what became known as the Holocaust.
97
Neville Chamberlain
(1869 – 1940) British prime minister best known for his foreign policy of giving in to Germany and allowing the German army to take part of Czechoslovakia. This was an unsuccessful attempt to avoid war with Germany.
98
Nuremberg Trials
A series of military trials held by Allied forces after World War II. Military, political, and economic leaders of Nazi Germany were tried for war crimes.
99
Office of War Information
An agency created by the federal government during World War II. The agency released war news, worked to get public support for the war, got women into the workforce, and warned against foreign spies.
100
Operation Barbarossa
The code name given to the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. The plan was unsuccessful, as German forces were not able to gain control of Moscow, the Soviet capital.
101
Operation Overlord
The code name for the plan to invade, or attack, German-held territory in France. Allied forces crossed the English Channel and attacked the Germans on the French coast at Normandy. The attack took place on June 6, 1944, and is known as D-Day.
102
Operation Torch
The code name for an Allied plan to invade, or attack, German-held territory in French North Africa. The attack started November 8, 1942.
103
Pearl Harbor
The location of the surprise attack by Japanese war planes on December 7, 1941, targeting the U.S. naval base in Hawaii. Eight battleships were sunk or damaged, other ships and aircraft were destroyed, and more than 3,600 people were killed or wounded. The Japanese intended for the attack to make the U.S. Navy too weak to enter World War II; instead, it quickly brought the United States into the war in the Pacific and in Europe.
104
Potsdam Conference
A meeting held in the summer of 1945 between the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to decide on the punishment for Germany after its defeat in World War II.
105
Potsdam Declaration
The statement made from the Potsdam conference in 1945 calling for the surrender of Japan to end World War II. Japan did not surrender, and U.S. planes dropped atomic bombs on two Japanese cities.
106
Rosie the Riveter
A symbol for all of the women who worked in factories during World War II. In many cases, these women were doing jobs formerly held by men who left the jobs to go to war.
107
United Nations
An organization of nearly 200 nations formed after World War II. Its goals are to keep peace in the world and help with social, economic, and human rights issues.
108
USO
The United Services Organization, an organization founded in 1941 at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide entertainment and recreation services for the U.S. military personnel.
109
Vichy Regime
The German-backed government of France during World War II.
110
Winston Churchill
(1874 – 1965) British politician best known for his leadership of Great Britain throughout World War II.
111
Yalta Conference
A 1945 wartime meeting between the leaders of the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain, the three main Allied countries in World War II. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how Europe, especially Germany, should be organized after the war was over.
