| A | B |
|---|
| Affirmative Action | describes policies that support members of a disadvantaged group through education, employment, or housing that have suffered past discrimination. CONTROVERSIAL |
| Articles of Confederation | our first written constitution. It lasted only 10 years. It had the power to print money, arrange for new states, declare war, make treaties. But was WEAK due to too much power being in the hands of the states... (remember: they didn't want to be like GB) |
| Bill of Rights | First 10 amendments to our Constitution, added as a result of arguments made by the Anti-Federalists regarding ratification of the Constitution. |
| Brown v. Bd of Ed 1954 | overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, separate but equal is UNCONSTITUTIONAL |
| Civil War (1861-1865) | Fought over states rights, tariffs, and slavery. Lincoln held we were fighting the war to "preserve the union". |
| Civil Rights Movement | The civil rights movement was a struggle for social justice that took place mainly during the 1950s and 1960s for blacks to gain equal rights under the law in the United States. Major people: MLK Jr. Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou. |
| Cold War (1945-1991) | A time period of deep hostitility and tension bt two superpowers: the US and USSR. Seen in issues like: Race to Space, Nuclear Arms Race, Korean War, Vietnam War |
| Collective Bargaining | Came about through the work of labor unions. Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. |
| Collective Security | the cooperation of several countries in an alliance to strengthen the security of each. Seen in: NATO, Warsaw Pact |
| Compromise of 1850 | decided the issue of slavery in the new territory acquired through the Mexican-American War. |
| Concurrent Powers | Concurrent powers are powers that are shared by both the State and the federal government. For example: taxing |
| Containment | To want to stop the spread of communism- seen in the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Domino Theory, Korean and Vietnam Wars |
| Declaration of Independence | the formal statement written by Thomas Jefferson declaring the freedom of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain. |
| Elastic Clause | Elastic clause is a clause in the U.S. Constitution that empowers the Congress to make laws that are necessary and proper for carrying out its powers. ... This clause is officially known as the Necessary and Proper clause. |
| Electoral College | our way of electing the president. a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president. Controversial because a person can win the popular vote and not win the election. |
| Fourteen Points 1918 | Wilson's outline for "peace without victory" following the end of WWI, he called for many things including a "League of Nations" to settle disputes before war. |
| Treaty of Versailles | ended WWI, Blame, Reparations, Reduction of Arms and Territory by Germany. Created a League of Nations. US never ratified the treaty because of the LofN. |
| 14 amendment | The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States—including former slaves—and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws.” |
| Good Neighbor Policy | A United States foreign policy doctrine, adopted by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, designed to improve relations with Latin America. |
| Great Depression | The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world, lasting from 1929 to 1939. It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. FDR became President and enacted many New Deal policies to increase gov't funded programs for the creation of jobs. |
| Grange Movement | coalition of U.S. farmers, particularly in the Middle West, that fought monopolistic grain transport practices (monopolies on railroads) during the decade following the American Civil War. |
| Great Compromise 1787 | Settled the dispute over representation for small states vs. large states. Created two houses: House of Reps based on population and Senate: equal number per state |
| Great Society | was a set of domestic programs in the United States launched by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964–65. The main goal was the total elimination of poverty and racial injustice. Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare |
| Harlem Renaissance | A time period of rebirth in African American culture (music and arts) Think: Jazz Music and Langston Hughes |
| Impeachment | Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body levels charges against a government official. It does not mean removal from office. Think: Nixon |
| Industrial Revolution | A time period of industrial growth in America centered around the steel, oil, and railroad industries. We also saw an upsurge in patents for inventions during this time. |
| Isolationism | a policy of remaining apart from the affairs or interests of other groups, especially the political affairs of other countries. Think: America following WWI. |
| Jim Crow Laws | Jim Crow laws were state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States. All were enacted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by white Democratic-dominated state legislatures after the Reconstruction period. The laws were enforced until 1965. |
| Judicial Review | the Supreme Court's power to review a law and decide whether it's constitutional or not (Marbury v. Madison established this) |
| Korean War | Fought as part of Containment, Communist North invades the South, outcome: Bordered remained the same |
| Ku Klux Klan | Claimed to be ghosts of Confederate Soldiers, used violence against African- Americans including lynchings following the Civil War |
| League of Nations | formed as part of the Treaty of Versailles, it was supposed to bring about cooperation between it's members in hopes of preventing future wars. (After WWII: United Nations) |
| Manifest Destiny | the driving force behind westward expansion in the 1800's, led to disputes over slave/free territory |
| Marshall Plan | created following WWII as a way of giving economic aid to European countries so they wouldn't fall to communism |
| Mexican-American War | fought over the annexation of land in the Southwest- gave us California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona |
| Miranda v. Arizona | established the rights of the accused: must be read your rights |
| Missouri Compromise 1820 | settled the dispute over Missouri's admission as a slave state for the time being- Maine free state. |
| Monroe Doctrine 1820 | US declared no further colonization of the western hemisphere by the eastern hemisphere- later used by Teddy Roosevelt to justify military action |
| Muckrakers | Those who exposed corruption in society. Think: Upton Sinclair, Thomas Nast, Ida Tarbell |
| NATO | military alliance between the US and many European countries following WWII |
| New Deal | Programs FDR put forth to bring America out of the depression. Relief, Recovery, Reform. Think: gov't funded programs and jobs |
| New Immigrants | Those who came mainly from southern and eastern Europe in the late 1800's early 1900's, faced discrimination |
| 19th amendment | granted women the right to vote |
| Open Door Policy | Think: China, John Hay, trade with China |
| Plessy v. Ferguson | legalized segregation in America: separate but equal doctrine |
| Popular Sovereignty | or sovereignty of the peoples' rule, is the principle that the authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives, who is the source of all political powe |
| Populist Party | The Populist movement was a revolt by farmers in the South and Midwest against the Democratic and Republican Parties for ignoring their interests and difficulties. For over a decade, farmers were suffering from crop failures, falling prices, poor marketing, and lack of credit facilities. Think: farmers |
| Progressive Movement | was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States as a result of corruption during the Gilded Age. |
| Reconstruction Era | At first African Americans saw more rights than ever before, but after the Republicans backed out of controlling the South, thanks to the Compromise of 1877, sharecropping, poll taxes, and black codes plagued the south. |
| Roe v. Wade | legalized abortion in America |
| Segregation | the enforced separation of different racial groups in America: think Jim Crow Laws and Plessy v Ferguson |
| Seneca Falls Convention | Women's right convention fighting for suffrage |
| Separation of Powers | between the three branches of gov't, each has it's own powers and duties |
| Social Security Act 1935 | set forth during the Great Depression and still around today, this provided unemployment and aid to those who have lost parents, are retired, or out of work. |
| Spanish American War | fought after the Spanish sinking of the USS Maine in Cuba, yellow journalism played a huge roll in support for this war |
| Third Parties | smaller political parties that have had significant impact on some presidential elections. |
| Truman Doctrine | provided aid to Greece and Turkey following WWII so they would not fall to the Iron Curtain |
| United Nations | created following WWII, and international peace organization |
| Vietnam War | caused when the communist north invaded the south, US got involved as part of containment and the domino theory, ultimately communism won |
| War Powers Act 1973 | holds that the President can't send troops for more than 48 hours without Congress notification, 60 days without Congressional approval, and Congress can call them home |
| Watergate Affair | President Nixon is impeached for his involvement in spying on his political opponent, leads to his resignation, and pardoning. Think: US v. Nixon |
| Women's Rights Movement | Early women's rights: vote, Later women's rights: careers, wage gap, maternity benefits, discrimination |
| World War I | Caused by Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (spark), MAIN causes, America brought in after the "boat and the note" |
| Sharecropping | Replaced slavery in the south. Sharecropping is a form of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on their portion of land. |
