Reconstruction & Westward Migration
Black Codes
Laws passed in Southern states to restrict African Americans' freedom and maintain white supremacy.
Muckrakers
Journalists who exposed corruption and social injustices
Treaty of Versailles
Ended WWI; blamed Germany and imposed harsh penalties.
Cold War
Period of tension between the U.S. and Soviet Union without direct conflict.
Containment
U.S. policy to stop communism, supported by Truman and Eisenhower.
Plessy v. Ferguson
Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine (1896).
Mass Production
The manufacture of goods in large quantities, often using assembly lines.
Causes of WWI
Militarism, Alliances, Nationalism, and Imperialism.
Arms Race
U.S. and USSR competition to build powerful weapons, especially under Kennedy.
13th, 14th, and 15th Amendment
13. Abolished slavery in the United States (1865).
14. Granted citizenship to all born or naturalized in the U.S. and guaranteed equal protection under the law (1868).
15. Gave African American men the right to vote by prohibiting voting discrimination based on race or color (1870).
Sharecropping
A farming system where freedmen and poor whites worked land owned by others in exchange for a share of the crops.
Bessemer Process
A method to produce steel quickly and cheaply. Andrew Carnegie pioneers this.
League of Nations
International group to maintain peace; U.S. did not join.
Proxy Wars
Conflicts where superpowers supported opposing sides (e.g., Korea, Vietnam).
Judicial Activism
When courts make bold decisions that lead to new laws or social change.
Indian Removal Act
Law that authorized the forced relocation of Native American tribes to lands west of the Mississippi River (1830).
First vs. Second Industrial Revolution
First: textiles, steam power (late 1700s–mid-1800s). Second: steel, electricity, mass production (late 1800s–early 1900s).
Washington Naval Conference
Agreement among major powers to limit naval armament (1921–22), reducing or eliminating military forces or weapons.
Détente
A period of eased tensions with the USSR, promoted by Nixon.
Brown v. Board of Education
Declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional (1954).
Grange Movement
A social and political movement that aimed to help farmers by advocating for railroad regulation and cooperative buying.
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle
Exposed unsanitary meatpacking conditions; led to food safety laws.
GI Bill
Provided benefits like education and housing loans to WWII veterans.
Glasnost and Perestroika
Soviet reforms under Gorbachev: openness and economic restructuring (freedom of speech and private ownership).
Miranda v. Arizona
Required police to inform suspects of their legal rights.