Word
advocate
Definition
to show support for something
(verb)
agricultural
type of economy based on farming (money is made by farming)
(adverb)
alliance
group of countries that work together with a common goal
(noun)
amendment
a change to the Constitution
(noun)
annex
to add territory to one's own territory
(verb)
Anti-Semitism
hostility (hatred) toward or the discrimination of Jewish people
(noun)
appeasement
accepting demands in order to avoid conflict
(verb)
Aryan-Supremacy
(noun)
assembly line
(noun)
assimilate
the belief that blonde haired, blue eyed, full blooded German people
were the supreme (best) race and that all others were inferior
a way to produce goods/products with machines and workers at an
assigned task over and over again
to absorb a group into the culture of a larger population (example:
American Indians were forced to assimilate into "white" culture)
(verb)
black codes
(noun)
blitzkrieg
(noun)
laws passed in the South after the Civil War aimed at controlling
freedmen and enabling plantation owners to exploit African American
workers
name given to the sudden, violent offensive attacks the Germans used
during WWII; "lightning war"
blockade
to use the navy to cut off a place from trade
(verb)
bootlegger
person who made, sold or transported alcohol illegally during Prohibition
(noun)
boycott
(verb)
capitalism
(noun)
carpetbaggers
(noun)
civil rights
(noun)
Cold War
(noun)
communism
(noun)
consumer goods
(noun)
containment
(noun)
corollary
an act in which many people refuse to do something, usually to cause
economic ($) problems
an economic system based on private property and free enterprise
(people have control)
Northerners who went to the South after the Civil War to gain money
and political power; also supported Reconstruction policies
the rights that the Constitution entitles all people to as citizens,
especially equal treatment under the law
a struggle over political differences where there is no actual fighting
between the countries
an economic system based on the idea that farms and businesses
should be owned in common by the workers who do the labor
(government has control)
product intended for personal use by consumers, such as cars or
refrigerators
the United States' plan to stop the spread of communism throughout the
world (Cold War Era)
an addition to a document
(noun)
default
(noun)
demographics
(noun)
the failure to meet an obligation, especially a financial one (failing to pay
for something like a house or a car)
data collected about a population (ex. age, gender, race, ethnicity,
education)
depression
a period of low economic activity and widespread unemployment
(noun)
desegregate
to include different racial groups into a community
(verb)
dictator
a leader who rules with total authority, often in a cruel or brutal manner
(noun)
diplomacy
the relationship between countries
(noun)
domination
(noun)
Domino Theory
(noun)
dry farming
(noun)
economic
(adjective)
ethnic groups
(noun)
fascism
(noun)
Federal Reserve
the Soviet Union's plan to spread communism throughout the world
(Cold War Era)
the belief that if one nation in Asia fell to the communists, neighboring
countries would follow
way of farming where seeds are planted deep into the ground where
there is some moisture
relating to the economy of a country (how does the country make
money?)
a minority that speaks a different language or has different customs
than the majority of a population
a political system, led by a dictator, which calls for extreme nationalism
and racism and no tolerance of opposition
the government's bank
(noun)
financial resources money available to invest in a business
(noun)
foreign policy
(noun)
guidelines for how a country handles political (government) and
economic (money) interactions with other countries
franchise
(noun)
freedmen
a type of store, restaurant or other business that is run with specific
rules (example: McDonald’s)
African Americans who had been set free from slavery
(noun)
Freedman’s
Bureau
A government organization created to help former slaves after the Civil
War
(noun)
Freedom Riders
(noun)
genocide
(noun)
globalization
(noun)
Holocaust
(noun)
homestead
(noun)
Hoovervilles
(noun)
immigrant
group of African American and white college students who rode buses
through southern states to challenge segregation laws
the deliberate (on purpose) destruction of a racial, political or cultural
group
linking countries through trade, information, technologies and
communication
the name given to the mass slaughter of Jews and other groups by the
Nazis during WWII
to acquire (receive) a piece of U.S. public land by living and cultivating
(farming) it
shantytowns or slums that developed during the Great Depression;
nicknamed after President Hoover.
a person who moves from one country to live in another
(noun)
imperialism
(noun)
industrial
policy (idea) that allows stronger countries to take political and/or
economic control over smaller, weaker countries
type of economy based on factories (money is made with factory work)
(adverb)
industrialization
(noun)
the growth of businesses
integrate
(verb)
internment camps
(noun)
interstate highway
the process of including people of different racial groups throughout
society
the detention centers where Japanese Americans were moved and
confined to during WWII
highways that run through many states
(noun)
“Iron Curtain”
(noun)
island hopping
(verb)
isolationism
the political and military barrier that isolated Soviet controlled countries
of Eastern Europe after WWII
a strategy used during WWII that called for attacking and capturing
certain key islands and using these islands as bases to leapfrog to
others
a national policy (idea) of avoiding involvement in world problems
(noun)
Jim Crow laws
(noun)
kamikaze
(noun)
labor-saving
(adjective)
Lend-Lease
(noun)
liberate
laws enforcing segregation of blacks and whites in the South after the
Civil War
during WWII, a Japanese suicide pilot whose mission was to crash into
his target
a device designed to reduce the amount off work needed to complete a
certain task (for example: washing machine, dishwasher)
the act passed during WWII allowing the U.S. to sell, lend, or lease
arms or other war supplies to any nation fighting the Axis Powers
to set people free
(verb)
mass media
(noun)
types of communication that reach large numbers of people, such as
newspapers, radio, TV
mass produce
(verb)
mechanize
producing large quantities (amounts) of goods by using machines and
the assembly line
to use machines
(verb)
migrant worker
(noun)
migration
a person who moves from place to place to find work harvesting fruits
and vegetables
a movement of a large number of people into a new homeland
(verb)
militarism
the political idea of building up the nation's military
(noun)
monopoly
total control of an industry by 1 person or 1 company
(noun)
national market
(noun)
nationalism
market created when natural resources and other products are bought
and transported from cities and states across the continent
pride in your country
(noun)
natural resource
(noun)
useful materials found in nature, including water, vegetation, animals
and minerals
New Deal
name given to the new laws aimed at relieving the Great Depression
(noun)
noncontiguous
not connected (ex. Hawaii and Alaska)
(adjective)
on margin
(verb)
to buy a stock by paying for only a fraction of the price and borrowing
the rest
ore
a mineral mined for the valuable substance it contains, such as silver
(noun)
outsource
to obtain goods and services from outside sources (other countries)
(verb)
over-speculate
(verb)
pandemic
(noun)
passive resistance
(noun)
political
to spend too much money and/or to take risks on something (like
stocks)
an infectious disease that is spreading through populations around the
world
another name for non-violent protests used during the Civil Rights
Movement
relating to the government of a country
(adjective)
political corruption dishonest acts committed by people working for the government
(noun)
(federal, state, local levels)
political machine
(noun)
political region
an organization linked to a political party that often controlled local
government
a way of grouping places using their political boundaries
(noun)
primary sources
(noun)
Prohibition
(noun)
propaganda
types of sources that give first -hand accounts of events (ex. photograph)
a time period in U.S. history when the government put a ban on the
production, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages
information used to influence a person's opinions, thoughts or actions
(noun)
prosperous
financially ($) successful
(adjective)
ratify
(verb)
to give official approval of a law, amendment, or treaty
ration
to give out scarce (hard to find) items on a limited basis
(noun)
reconcile
(verb)
Reconstruction
(noun)
reformer
to reestablish (recreate) friendly relationships (example: between the
North and South after the Civil War)
the period after the Civil War when the federal government ruled the
Southern states in order to rebuild them and allow them back into the
Union
a person who works to reform (change) something
(noun)
reform
to make changes (political, economic, and/or social changes)
(verb)
Renaissance
a period of intellectual and artistic creativity
(noun)
reparations
repayment for damages caused by war
(noun)
repeal
to take away a law or amendment
(verb)
reservation
an area of public land that is set aside for American Indians
(noun)
rural
area characterized by farming or countryside communities
(adjective)
secondary sources types of sources that give second hand accounts of events (ex. (noun)
textbook)
segregate
the process of separating people of different racial groups
(verb)
settlement house
(noun)
institution (building) located in a poor neighborhood that provided
numerous community services such as medical care, child care,
libraries, and classes in English
sharecropping
(verb)
sit-in
(noun)
slums (ghettos)
system of farming in which a farmer works land for an owner who
provides equipment and seeds and receives a share of the crop
a form of peaceful protest in which people occupied seats in a
segregated facility
poor, crowded, rundown urban neighborhoods
(noun)
social
relating to a country’s society (people)
(adjective)
sodbuster
nickname given to a Great Plains farmer
(noun)
speakeasy
illegal clubs where people went to drink alcohol during Prohibition
(noun)
stock
shares (pieces) of ownership a company sells in its business
(noun)
strike
to stop working by workers to force an employer to meet demands
(verb)
suburb
(noun)
suffrage
residential area built outside major cities as a result of improvement in
transportation
the right to vote
(noun)
sweatshop
(noun)
a factory where workers work long hours at low wages under unhealthy
conditions
tariff
a tax on imported goods
(noun)
telecommunication the use of electronic systems to communicate over far distances (ex.
(noun)
the Internet)
temperance
the use of little or no alcoholic drinks; a movement that led to Prohibition
(noun)
tenement
(noun)
transcontinental
a building in which several families rent rooms or apartments, often with
little sanitation or safety
across the continent
(noun)
unconstitutional
to go against what the Constitution says
(adjective)
union
(noun)
urban
labor organizations that work together to fight for better working
conditions, better pay, etc.
area characterized by city communities
(adjective)
urbanization
the growth of cities
(noun)
vocational
type of school that focuses on certain trades (jobs)
(adjective)
yellow journalism
(adjective)
type of writing which exaggerates events to attract a reader's attention
Important Constitutional Amendments
13th
(1865)
Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude (indentured servants)
14th
(1868)
Granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the U.S., and ensures
equal protection under the law for all citizens
15th
(1870)
Granted all males the right to vote
18th
(1919)
Prohibition began
19th
(1920)
Granted women the right to vote
21st
(1933)
Repealed Prohibition