Terms and definitions for US History 1st semester exam review.
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| 614101499 | social darwinism | The theory that encourages hard work as the way of getting to the top. | |
| 614101500 | electricity | Before this was invented, factories had to be built by rivers in order to manufacture goods. Once this came along, manufacturers were able to produce goods away from rivers. | |
| 614101501 | laissez faire | The idea that government should not be involved in the regulation of business. | |
| 614101502 | collective bargaining | Used as a way to negotiate between workers and employers. Often during this time period, unskilled workers made very low wages due to all the immigrants who were coming over to the U.S. and willing to work really cheap. Management would take advantage of this and pay workers very little in wages. | |
| 614101503 | immigrants | The Americanization movements goal was to integrate these people from various backgrounds and cultures into the American culture. Those who came from Europe to the U.S. entered our country through Ellis Island in New York. Those coming from Asian countries entered through Angel Island in California. | |
| 614101504 | political graft | Illegally hiring people to do jobs for much more money than the job would actually cost. Much of the excess money would then be filtered back to the corrupt politicians who hired the workers. An example of this type of activity was when Boss Tweed overcharged taxpayers in the building of Tammany Hall and received a bunch of money in return. | |
| 614101505 | 1800s economic boom | Three contributing factors caused this... a growing urban population, a wealth of natural resources, and government support of business. | |
| 614101506 | Interstate Commerce Act | The difficulty with using the railroads was that different areas in which the railroad would travel through would charge vastly different prices. This Act was made to regulate railroad costs so it would be consistent when you travelled. | |
| 614101507 | rapid urbanization | When people flooded into cities to live. Because of the tremendously crowded conditions, issues such as fire, poor sanitation, and crime all rose significantly. | |
| 614101508 | NAACP | The Goal of this organization was equality for all different races of people. | |
| 614101509 | Progressive movement | The goals of this movement were fostering efficiency in the workplace, creating economic reform, protecting social welfare. | |
| 614101510 | Booker T Washington | Believed that African-Americans needed technical skills to survive in America's economy. | |
| 614101511 | Upton Sinclair | A muckraker who wrote The Jungle to describe the horrible conditions in America's meat-packing plants. | |
| 614101512 | Jane Addams | She was an advocate of the settlement house movement and founded Hull-House. | |
| 614101513 | Carrie Chapman Catt | She was head of NAWSA (National American Women's Suffrage Association). | |
| 614101514 | Jim Crow laws | Laws that were passed in the south to prevent white & black people from intermixing and to prevent blacks from achieving equality. An example of these laws were signs showing separate drinking fountains or restrooms for blacks and whites. | |
| 614101515 | literacy tests | Very difficult tests given to African-Americans in the south that they had to pass in order to vote. These tests were purposely made to keep African-Americans from voting. | |
| 614101516 | segregation | When you separate people on the basis of race. | |
| 614101517 | Pure Food and Drug Act | A law that required truthful labels to be put on all products to let people know what they are made of. | |
| 614101518 | 19th amendment | The amendment which gave women the right to vote (women's suffrage). | |
| 614101519 | foreign markets | People in the late 1800's wanted to expand our nation overseas to help us gain more trade for our American goods in foreign markets. | |
| 614101520 | Spanish American War | Causes were: (1) Yellow journalism - newspaper reporting that is exaggerated and not true. This kind of newspaper reporting made people in America believe that we should go to war with Spain. (2) The sinking of the U.S.S. Maine. (3) The poor treatment of the Cuban rebels by the Spanish military. | |
| 614101521 | Open Door Policy | Allowed the United States to start trading with China. | |
| 614101522 | Panama Canal | A massive project that took many years to finish. It was a short cut between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. This shortcut also helped our military because we could get our ships to different places more quickly. | |
| 614101523 | German Uboat | German submarines that made it difficult for the Allied forces to get supplies to their troops because they would destroy the ships before they delivered supplies. | |
| 614101524 | Selective Service Act | Allowed Congress to draft men into the army. This Act enabled Congress to raise an army very quickly to fight in the war. | |
| 614101525 | 14 Point Peace Plan | Created by President Wilson... and suggested the following: Enter the League of Nations, no secret treaties, freedom of the seas for everyone. | |
| 614101526 | Great Migration | When blacks from the south moved north to cities such as Detroit, Chicago, and New York for better job opportunities. | |
| 614101527 | Treaty of Versailles | The United States Senate refused to approve this because they were against the forming of the League of Nations (which was part of this treaty). | |
| 614101528 | Red Scare | When people from America were afraid that people coming from other countries might be communist. An example of this was when two Italian immigrants named Sacco and Vanzetti were tried and found guilty of murder mostly because they were thought to be communist. | |
| 614101529 | Automobile | This invention was the main factor in urbanization (the growing of cities) because people could now get back and forth from home to work. | |
| 614101530 | installment plan | The idea of "buy now, pay later". This really increased the amount of consumer products that were bought in the 1920's. | |
| 614101531 | Harlem Renaissance | A time period of cultural revival in the African American Community. A lot of great music and art exploded onto the scene during this time. | |
| 614101532 | speakeasies | Hidden establishments that people would go to to drink alcohol illegally. This was during the time period when prohibition was in effect and people weren't allowed to drink alcohol. | |
| 614101533 | Scopes Trial | This trial really brought to light the struggle between religion and science in American schools. John Scopes taught his science class the theory of evolution even though it was not allowed according to Tennessee State Law. | |
| 614101534 | Great Depression | Causes of this event were: the crash of the stock market, overproduction of crops in the farm sector, availability of easy credit. | |
| 614101535 | bonus army | World War I veterans and their families who came to Washington demanding the bonus money they were promised. | |
| 614101536 | rugged individualism | President Hoover's approach to the Great Depression. He thought the American people should be tough and fight to get through the Great Depression on their own without the help of Government. | |
| 614101537 | speculation | In the 1920's, people bought stock on the chance of a quick profit without considering the risks involved. | |
| 614101538 | Franklin Roosevelt | Won a landslide victory in 1932 over Hoover because people were so upset with Hoover's policies of not helping the people during the Great Depression. People didn't trust Hoover any more after the "Bonus Army incident" and they wanted the government to give them more help. His first major action as President once he took office was declare a "bank holiday" in order to get the banks in order. He had many successful ideas, but one idea of his that ended up failing was the court-packing bill. | |
| 614101539 | New Deal | The goals of this program were as follows...1) Reform the stock market 2) Promote Laissez-faire 3) Promote industrial recovery in the farm sector. People will always remember this program because it increased the power of the President, increased the size of the government, and started the risky habit of deficit spending (spending more money than the government has to spend). | |
| 614101540 | Reasons the U.S. entered WWI | 1. The sinking of the Lusitania 2. The Zimmerman note 3. The threat to our shipping lanes and foreign trade because of the German U-Boats 4. Our cultural ties with Britain | |
| 614101541 | Countries that came under U.S. control as a result of the Spanish American War | Cuba, Puerto Rico, & the Phillippines |
