Ho Chi
Minh Trail
Supply Route from coming from
Communist North Vietnam,
going through the countries of
Laos & Cambodia, and then
ending in South Vietnam to
help supply the Communist
Vietcong Rebels.
Homestead
Act
1862 - provided free
land in the west as long
as the person would
settle there and make
improvements in five
years
Hooverville
Depression
shantytowns, named
after the president
whom many blamed for
their financial distress
House
Un-American
Activities
Committee
(HUAC)
(HUAC) committee formed in
the House of Representatives
in the 1930s to investigate
radical groups in the United
States; it later came to focus on
the threat of communism in the
United States during World War
II and the Cold War
Hurricane
Katrina
Considered to be the major crisis of
the Bush administrations second
term and is characterized by its
inefficiency to deal with the crisis. It
destroyed 80% of New Orleans and
more than 1300 people died, while
the damages were over $150
billion.
Ida
B.Wells
African American
journalist. published
statistics about lynching,
urged African Americans
to protest by refusing to
ride streetcars or shop in
white owned stores
Imperialism
A policy in which a
strong nation seeks to
dominate other
countries politically,
socially, and
economically.
In God
we Trust
A phrase that Congress
made mandatory on all
American currency in
1954, inspired by
Eisenhower's patriotic
crusade to bring
Americans back to God.
Initiative,
Referendum,
Recall
Initiative: people have the right to propose a new
law. Referendum: a law passed by the legislature
can be reference to the people for approval/veto.
Recall: the people can petition and vote to have
an elected official removed from office. These all
made elected officials more responsible and
sensitive to the needs of the people, and part of
the movement to make government more
efficient and scientific.
Iran-Contra
Affair
This involved high officials in
the Reagan administration
secretly selling arms to Iran (in
return for the release of
Western hostages in the Middle
East) and illegally using the
proceeds to finance the Contra
rebels in Nicaragua.
2nd Iraq War /
Operation
Iraqi Freedom
An armed conflict in Iraq that
consisted of two phases. an
invasion force led by the
United States and a phase of
fighting, in which an
insurgency emerged to
oppose coallition forces
Island
Hopping
A military strategy used
during World War II that
involved selectively
attacking specific
enemy-held islands and
bypassing others
Isolationism
A national policy
of avoiding
involvement in
world affairs
Industrial
Workers of the
World (IWW)
A labor organization for
unskilled workers, formed
by a group of radical
unionists and socialists in
1905. Sometimes called
Wobblies
Jacob
Riis
Early 1900's muckraker
who exposed social and
political evils in the U.S.
with his novel "How The
Other Half Lives" exposed
the poor conditions of the
poor tenements in NYC
Jane
Addams
Founder of Hull House,
which provided English
lessons for immigrants,
daycares, and child care
classes
Japanese
Expansion
Japanese need of raw
materials, show power
to larger countries, so
the attack other
countries
Jazz
A style of
dance music
popular in the
1920s
John
Rockefeller
Creator of the Standard Oil
Company who made a
fortune on it and joined
with competing companies
in trust agreements that in
other words made an
amazing monopoly.
Julius and
Ethel
Rosenberg
Arrested in the Summer of
1950 and executed in
1953, they were convicted
of conspiring to commit
espionage by passing
plans for the atomic bomb
to the Soviet Union.
Kamikaze
Japanese suicide
pilots who loaded their
planes with explosives
and crashed them into
American ships.
Ku Klux
Klan (KKK)
A group that
started right after
the Civil War in
1866. Revived in
the 1920s
Klondike
Gold Rush
Frenzy of gold rush
immigration to and for gold
prospecting, along the
Klondike River near Dawson
City, Yukon, Canada after
gold was discovered there in
the late 19th century.
Knights
of Labor
1st effort to create
National union. Open to
everyone but lawyers and
bankers. Vague program,
no clear goals, weak
leadership and
organization. Failed
Korean
War
The conflict between
Communist North Korea
and Non-Communist
South Korea. The United
Nations (led by the United
States) helped South
Korea.
Laissez-Faire
Hands off. Very
little to no
government
intervention in
business.
League of
Nations
A world organization established in
1920 to promote international
cooperation and peace. It was first
proposed in 1918 by President
Woodrow Wilson, although the
United States never joined the
League. Essentially powerless, it
was officially dissolved in 1946.
League of United
Latin American
Citizens (LULAC)
Fought to desegregae
schools, public facilities,
and housing in Southern
California and the
Southwest; fought for
Hispanic rights
Lend
Lease Act
Law passed after the fall
of Britain during WWII;
allowed the U.S. to loan
munitions to Allies in
WWII; kept U.S. boys at
home
Lester
Maddox
This racist restaurant owner
closed his restaurant rather
than integrate. He eventually
became governor and hired
more blacks to office than all
prior governors combined.
Limited
War
A war fought to
achieve a limited
objective, such as
containing
communism
Malcolm
X
Black Muslim leader who
said Blacks needed to
have separate society
from whites, but later
changed his views. He
was assassinated in 1965.
Manhattan
Project
Code name for the
secret United States
project set up in 1942 to
develop atomic bombs
for use in World War II
March on
Washington
Held in 1963 to show
support for the Civil Rights
Bill in Congress. Martin
Luther King gave his
famous "I have a dream..."
speech. 250,000 people
attended the rally
Marcus
Garvey
African American leader
during the 1920s who
founded the Universal
Negro Improvement
Association and advocated
mass migration of African
Americans back to Africa
Marshall
Plan
A plan that the US came
up with to revive war-torn
economies of Europe. This
plan offered $13 billion in
aid to western and
Southern Europe.
Dr. Martin
Luther
King, Jr.
1929-1968. Pivotal leader of the American Civil
Rights movement. Non-violent leader, became
youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1964 for his efforts to end segregation
and racial discrimination. Led Montgomery Bus
Boycott, helped found Southern Christian
Leadership Conference, and led March on
Washington in 1963 where he delivered "I have a
Dream" speech.
McCarthyism
The term associated with
Senator Joseph McCarthy who
led the search for communists
in America during the early
1950s through his leadership in
the House Un-American
Activities Committee.
Mendez v.
Westminster
Federal court case that challenged
racial segregation in California
schools. In its ruling, the U.S. Court
of Appeals held that the
segregation of Mexican and
Mexican American students into
separate "Mexican schools" was
unconstitutional
Mikhail
Gorbachev
The last General secretary of the Soviet
Union. He brought about massive
economic, social, and political changes
and helped bring an end to both the
Soviet Union and the Cold War. His
reforms included giving citizens the ability
to freely voice their opinions (glasnost)
and entirely restructuring the Soviet
Union's economy (Perestroika).