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SSUSH 1 Key Vocabulary:

Mercantilism: an economic theory based on reducing a country’s imports while expanding its exports in order to maximize wealth.

Navigation Acts: a series of laws passed by England in the mid-1600s to control the trade of the English colonies.

Indentured servants: lower class Englishmen who could not afford to pay for the voyage to North America and worked for a land owner in exchange for their passage to North America.

Southern Colonies: Virginia, Maryland, (North and South) Carolina, and Georgia. The region’s rich soil and long growing season, fostered the development of strong agricultural producing colonies.

Jamestown: The first permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607.

Virginia Company: a joint-stock company, which raised capital for the expedition to America by selling shares of company stock to investors. The company planned to send colonists to find gold and other valuable natural resources in America.

Virginia Charter: document issued by the English government that gave the Virginia Company legal authority to govern and settle the Virginia colony in the name of England.

Captain John Smith: leader who took control of the Jamestown colony and saved it from collapse.

John Rolfe: Englishman who made Jamestown profitable by introducing tobacco to the colony.

Pocahontas: daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Indians and wife of Englishman John Rolfe.

Chief Powhatan: Leader of all the tribes around the Virginia colony.

Lord Baltimore: Founded the colony of Maryland as a refuge for Catholics.

Act of Toleration: Established religious equality between Catholics and Protestants in the Maryland colony.

Lord Proprietors: title for the eight nobles who were given the colony of Carolina by Charles II in exchange for their help in restoring him to the monarchy.

Charleston: city in the southern Carolina colony that was a transportation hub for exporting the valuable cash crops.

James Oglethorpe: founder of the colony of Georgia.

Mayflower Compact: Agreement between the settlers of the Plymouth colony to govern themselves through majority rule.

John Winthrop: Puritan leader who established the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

"City Upon A Hill" Speech: Speech by John Winthrop that challenged Puritans to work as hard as they possibly could to make the new colony thrive since the world would be watching to see if they were successful.

Salem Witch Trials: hysteria that spread through Massachusetts in 1692 and led to over 150 colonists being accused of witchcraft. Of the 150 accused, 29 were convicted and 19 hanged. Contributing causes of the Salem Witch Trials included extreme religious faith, stress from a growing population, deteriorating relations with American Indians, and the narrow opportunities for women and girls to participate in Puritan society.

King Philip’s War (1675): was an early and bloody conflict between English and regional American Indian tribal groups.

Roger Williams was a Puritan minister who founded the settlement of Providence, Rhode Island when he was kicked out of Puritan Massachusetts. The colony was noted for its religious freedom.

Anne Hutchinson: female colonist who fled to Rhode Island after being put on trial for her unorthodox religious beliefs in Massachusetts.

Thomas Hooker: Puritan minister who founded Hartford, Connecticut after having differences with the leaders of Massachusetts.

The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut: document that established a representative government led by a popularly elected legislature and a governor chosen by that legislature.

Pequot War Conflict between Connecticut settlers and the area’s American Indians in 1637. The war resulted in over 400 Pequot men, women, and children being killed when their fort was attacked and burned by colonists.

New Netherland: Colony founded by the Dutch in 1614 that was later taken over by the English and became New York.

New Amsterdam: present day New York City.

Mid-Atlantic Colonies: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware) that were created from the previous Dutch New Netherland colony. Noted for their good harbors and river systems, and agriculture such as wheat.

SSUSH 2 Key Vocabulary

Middle Passage: portion of the trans-Atlantic trade routes in which enslaved Africans were packed into crowded ships and sent to North or South America.

Salutary Neglect: English policy towards the colonies from the 1720s until the 1760s that included fewer restrictions on trade and more local control of government.

House of Burgesses: the first elected legislature in the British colonies.

Bacon's Rebellion: 1676 uprising of former indentured servants against the ruling elite of Virginia

Great Awakening: religious movement in the American colonies influenced by revivals that swept through Europe in the 1730s

SSUSH 3 Key Vocabulary Terms and Definitions

French and Indian War: Fought between 1754 and 1763, this was the last of a series of wars between Britain and France for control of the North American continent.

1763 Treaty of Paris: Deal between Britain and France that ended the French and Indian War. France surrendered its Canadian territory (Quebec) and all of the Louisiana Territory except for the city of New Orleans.

Proclamation of 1763: Law passed by Parliament after the French and Indian War in an attempt to prevent further Indian attacks by prohibiting any more American colonists from settling beyond the Appalachian Mountains.

Stamp Act of 1765: Tax collected on every document or newspaper printed or used in the colonies.

Committee of Correspondence: Group created by the Massachusetts colonial assembly to efficiently communicate with the other colonies on matters of concern.

Sons of Liberty: Group organized by Samuel Adams in Boston to protest the Stamp Act. This group's tactics sometimes turned violent.

Daughters of Liberty: Group organized by Boston women to support the boycott against British clothes by creating their own cloth at home.

Intolerable Acts: A series of laws passed by British Parliament after the Boston Tea Party designed to punish the colonies for attacking British ships.

Common Sense: Thomas Paine's argument for the colonies to declare independence from Great Britain.

Thomas Paine: Author of Common Sense.


Thomas Jefferson: Author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States.

Committee of Five: Group chosen by the Continental Congress to write the Declaration of Independence. They included Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman.

John Locke: British philosopher whose ideas concerning natural rights influenced the Declaration of Independence.

natural rights: idea expressed in the Declaration of Independence that individuals are born with certain rights and that these rights were not given by the government.

Social Contract Theory: the idea that government's power comes from an agreement with the people in which both the people and the government have certain rights and responsibilities.

Benjamin Franklin: American who was a printer, author, scientist, diplomat, and Founding Father. Though important for many reasons, his importance in Standard 4 is for two reasons: his contributions to helping write the Declaration of Independence and his diplomatic role in negotiating the French Alliance and the Treaty of Paris 1783 with John Adams.

John Adams: American Founding Father. Was part of the Committee of Five that created the Declaration of Independence. As a diplomat in Europe during the Revolution, he helped negotiate the French Alliance and the Treaty of Paris 1783. Later became the 1st Vice President and 2nd President of the United States.

George Washington: Commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and first President of the United states.

Valley Forge: Winter camp for the Continental Army during the winter months of 1777-1778.

Continental Army: American army established and paid by the Continental Army and led by George Washington.

State militias: Volunteer units organized by states and local communities to fight against Britain in the Revolutionary War. Similar to the National Guard of today.

Baron von Steuben: Prussian drill sergeant who trained American soldiers at Valley Forge.

Marquis de Lafayette: French aristocrat who helped train U.S. soldiers at Valley Forge and helped the American forces secure resources from France.

Crossing of the Delaware/Battle of Trenton: Secret attack by George Washington and 2,400 men on Christmas night 1776. By catching the Hessian mercenaries off-guard, the victory gave confidence to American soldiers who had seen very little success in the early years of the war.

Battle of Saratoga: 1777 American victory that was a turning point in the Revolutionary War because it convinced the French to openly support America as an ally.

General John Burgoyne: British general who lost the Battle of Saratoga.

General Horatio Gates: American General who won the Battle of Saratoga.

Battle of Yorktown: Last major battle of the Revolutionary War. British forces led by General (Lord) Charles Cornwallis were defeated by George Washington.

Crispus Attucks: Black man living in Boston noted for being one of the colonists killed by British soldiers in the Boston Massacre.

1783 Treaty of Paris: Agreement between Britain and the United States that ended the Revolutionary War.


Land Ordinance of 1785: Law that allowed for the division and sale of public lands to settle debts from the Revolutionary War and finance the operation of the new government.

Northwest Ordinance: Law that established the method by which new territories would be admitted to the United States.

Articles of Confederation: Original governing document for the United States. Its intentional weakness reflected Americans' fear of an overly powerful central government.

Shays' Rebellion: 1785 Rebellion of Massachusetts farmers that illustrated the weakness of the Articles of Confederation and led to calls for a stronger government.

limited government: a government whose powers are restricted by the division of power into separate branches and different levels of government.

Great Compromise: Agreement between small and large states at the Constitutional Convention that created a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House of Representatives and equal representation in the Senate.

Three-Fifths Compromise: Agreement between slave and free states at the Constitutional Convention that allowed slave owners to count three of every five slaves for purposes of representation.

Anti-Federalists: group that opposed the new Constitution because they believed the national government would be too powerful and would eliminate the power of the states.

Federalists: group that supported the ratification of the new Constitution.

The Federalist Papers: A series of 85 essays that laid out a series of reasoned arguments designed to persuade the people that the structure of the new Constitution actually protected and strengthened the United States.


Precedent: an action that sets a basis for similar situations as they arise in the future. Many of President George Washington's actions set precedents for future presidents.

Alien and Sedition Acts: Laws passed during the presidency of John Adams that made it more difficult to become a citizen and made some criticism of the government a criminal offense.

Election of 1800: Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams in the first peaceful transition of power from one political party to another in United States history.

Louisiana Purchase: Sale of the Louisiana Territory from France to the United States in 1803. This new territory doubled the size of the United States.

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark: explorers who embarked upon a 16-month government-funded exploration of Louisiana and the western lands all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

War of 1812: War fought between the United States and Britain over Britain's refusal to respect American neutrality, their refusal to turn over forts in the Great Lakes area, the impressment of U.S. sailors, and the U.S. desire to conquer Canada while Britain was at war with France.

Monroe Doctrine: 1823 statement of U.S. foreign policy declaring that the United States would prevent European nations from interfering with independent American countries.

SSUSH 07

universal male suffrage: the right of all males to vote.

Nullification Crisis: political conflict between the U.S. government and the state of South Carolina concerning the right of states to void a federal laws believed to be unconstitutional.

Indian Removal Act: 1830 law signed by President Jackson which forced thousands of American Indians to leave their homelands and re-settle west of the Mississippi River.

Industrial Revolution: the transformation from purely agrarian to a modern industrial and commercial economy.

Henry Clay: Kentucky politician, founder of the Whig Party, and rival of Andrew Jackson. He supported industrialization and believed that the federal government needed to take strong action to ensure the economic growth of the United States

American System: Henry Clay's plan to improve the American economy by means of protective tariffs, federal aid for infrastructure, and a strong national bank.

Second Great Awakening: a religious revival that swept across the nation in the 1820s and contributed to the formation of many reform movements.

public education: schools financed by local funds and administered by a local school board and superintendent. This model is essentially the one used in America today.

women's equality: social and political rights being held by male and female alike.


Missouri Compromise: political agreement that settled the status of slavery in the Louisiana Territory. Maine was admitted to the Union as a free state, Missouri as a slave state, and slavery was prohibited in any other territory north of the 36' 30" line of latitude.

James K. Polk 11th President of the United States, known for his "manifest destiny" approach to westward expansion.

Manifest Destiny: the belief that it was America's fate to settle the North American continent from coast to coast.

Oregon Territory: Territory on the northern Pacific Coast that the United States acquired by a treaty with Great Britain

Texas: 10 years after winning independence from Mexico, this republic signed a treaty of annexation and joined the United States in 1845.

Mexican War: 1846 war between the United States and Mexico during which the United States acquirred much of the present-day Southwest from Mexico.

sectional: pertaining to to geographic regions of the country, in this context the Northern and Southern regions of the U.S.

Compromise of 1850: A series of 5 laws, the purpose of which was to settle the status of slavery in California and settle other divisive issues between North and South.

Kansas-Nebraska Act: 1854 law that changed the status of slavery in the middle of the country by repealing the Compromise of 1850.

popular sovereignty: to let the voters decide the status of slavery in a given territory instead of Congress.

Scott v. Sanford: 1857 Supreme Court decision that removed all legal barriers to the spread of slavery. After this decision only a Constitutional Amendment could limit slavery in the territories.

John Brown's Raid: failed attack on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry Virginia by a band of radical abolitionists.

Election of 1860: The election in which Republican Abraham Lincoln became president and the Southern states seceded from the Union

SSUSH 09 Key Vocabulary and Definitions

habeas corpus: Lincoln used his emergency powers to legalize the holding of over 13,000 Confederate sympathizers without trialEmancipation Proclamation: The policy emancipated (freed) all slaves held in the states engaged in rebellion.

Gettysburg Address: Lincoln’s speech at the dedication of a military cemetery at the Gettysburg battlefield just four months after 51,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed there in battle.

Second Inaugural Addresses: another example of a speech where his determination to preserve the union of states is evident.

Robert E. Lee: Commander of Confederate Forces during the Civil War

General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson: was considered a brilliant military tactician and was a great commander for Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army

General Ulysses S. Grant: after winning the Battle of Vicksburg became commander of all Union forces

General William T. Sherman: Sherman's influence on the outcome of the war was to wear down the Confederate will to fight through the widespread destruction of property on his march through Georgia and the Carolinas.

Jefferson Davis: president of the Confederate States of America

Battle of Fort Sumter: Not only did this battle begin the war, but it also prompted the states of the Upper South to join the Confederacy. Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas seceded within weeks of the Confederate victory at Fort Sumter.

Battle of Antietam: The significance of the Battle of Antietam was that Lee's failure to win encouraged Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

Battle of Gettysburg: Once the Union Forces secured the high ground, it was difficult for the Confederates to overpower the enemy due to their fortified location

Battle of Vicksburg: The Confederate loss of Vicksburg also meant they lost control of the Mississippi River and the ability to maneuver their forces and supplies efficiently.

Battle of Atlanta: Sherman besieged Atlanta, Georgia for six weeks before capturing the vitally important center of Confederate manufacturing and railway traffic.


Reconstruction: the political, social, and economic rebuilding of the South in the period after the Civil War

Presidential Reconstruction: a milder form of Reconstruction designed to quickly get the South back into the union.

Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: shooting of President Lincoln just a few days after the end of the Civil War

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson: the House of Representatives impeached president Andrew Johnson in 1868 technically for removing a cabinet member without approval, but in reality over differences concerning Reconstruction policy.

Congressional Reconstruction: a more harsh form of Reconstruction designed to punish the South

Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands: government agency tasked with helping newly freed slaves make the transition from slavery to freedom

Thirteenth Amendment: banned slavery

Fourteenth Amendment: decreed that former slaves (Freedmen) were citizens and entitled to due process

Fifteenth Amendment: granted former male slaves the right to vote

Black Codes: state laws passed during Reconstruction that limited the rights of Blacks

Ku Klux Klan: terrorist group in the South during Reconstruction

Presidential Election of 1876: disputed election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden.

Compromise of 1877: agreement under which the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes is accepted as president and Reconstruction ends in the South


Railroads: The geographic connections railroads allowed created a national market. No longer were goods and products regional. Instead mass production and distribution of items created larger corporations and enormous profits.

steel industry made possible the expansion of railroads given that the tracks are made of steel.

Oil production in the late 19th century was also linked to the growing railroad industry of the period. Drilling for oil in remote areas meant that the product had to be transported east for consumption as a fuel supply.

John D. Rockefeller was known for his economy, precision, and foresight in creating one of America's landmark corporations - Standard Oil.

monopoly or trust, the competition has been eliminated in the market. No competition means a business owner can set any price they want for the goods they are selling.

Andrew Carnegie: businessman who used vertical integration to create the first billion dollar corporation in the steel industry.

Telegraph: 1844 invention by Samuel Morse that allowed for instant communication over electronic wires

Telephone: 1867 invention by Alexander Graham Bell that allowed for instant voice communication

Light Bulb: Thomas Edison’s invention allowed 24-hour factory operations and the lighting of streets and neighborhoods

Ellis Island Immigrant Station located in New York Harbor was opened in 1892. By 1924, the station had processed 12 million immigrants

Angel Island Immigrant Station: Approximately 1 million Asian immigrants were processed at Angel Island between 1910 and 1940.

labor unions: Groups of workers who elect representatives to bargain with the business owners on their behalf.

American Federation of Labor: Labor Union of skilled workers led by Samuel Gompers. The AFL avoided political issues and simply fought for higher pay and better working conditions.


Impact of innovations and farming on Plains Indians: Plains Indians were impacted by the change in ranching. Many of the nomadic tribes became restricted in their ability to roam freely when land was roped off by barbed wire fencing. Conflict over land claims also escalated as ranchers began to claim larger tracts of land that were also inhabited by American Indians.

Ghost Dance religious movement that was sweeping through the Plains tribes. The American Indians believed their ceremony would reestablish their ancestral lands and repopulate the buffalo herd, thus restoring the Sioux's lost greatness.

Sitting Bull: Indian Leader who defeated the US Army at the Battle of Little Bighorn

Wounded Knee: ended in the deaths of over 300 Sioux, including women and children. This was the last major conflict between American Indians and the U.S. Army and signaled the end of resistance to white settlers' westward expansion.


Progressive Era: From 1890 to 1920, second great era of reform in American politics.

“muckraker” originated from a speech given by President Theodore Roosevelt in which he praised journalists for their role in uncovering corruption and problems often hidden from society

“Jim Crow laws." Beginning in 1876, ten of the eleven former Confederate states had created a legal framework for separating Whites and Blacks.

Plessy v. Ferguson: 1896 Supreme Court decision that declared Jim Crow legal under the 14th Amendment.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) NAACP's stated goals was to secure for all people the rights guaranteed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution. The organization quickly began to challenge Jim Crow laws and lynching through the courts.

empower voters: goal of Progressive political reforms such as the 17th Amendment, referendum, and recall

labor laws that restricted the power of business owners. For example, new child labor laws set a minimum age for employment and restricted the types of jobs children could hold. Laws were also created to protect women in the workplace by setting a minimum wage and maximum work hours.

conservation movement: belief that nature could be used responsibly but it should also be protected.


Spanish-American War: 1898 war between the United States and Spain.

acquisition of the new territories: Hawaii, the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico (and briefly Cuba) taken by the United States at the turn of the century

Philippine-American War: war between the U.S. and rebels on the Philippines after the United States took the islands from Spain in 1898.

debate over American expansionism: discussion in the late 19th and early 20th Century regarding the right of the United States to rule areas outside of the continental United States

Panama Canal: waterway between North and South America connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine In 1904 President Roosevelt stated that the Europeans were not welcome in the region and the U.S. would oversee the collection of any national debts owed by Latin American nations to Europeans.


declaration of neutrality: congressional statement issued by president Woodrow Wilson requesting that Americans not take sides in World War I.

unrestricted submarine warfare: Germany decided to expand submarine attacks from strictly Allied warships to also include any commercial ships belonging to both belligerent and neutral nations.

Zimmerman Telegram: a proposal by Germany to Mexico asking for a military alliance against the United States.

economic, political, and social impact of World War I: war production boards, Espionage Act, and Great Migration

war production boards: private businesses were managed more closely by these government agencies during WWI in order to ensure domestic production met the military needs.

Espionage Act: limits on freedom of speech and freedom of the press passed by Congress during World War I.

Eugene Debs: socialist presidential candidate who was imprisoned for violating the Espionage Act.

Great Migration: mass movement of Blacks from the rural South to the urban North in search of industrial jobs.

Fourteen Points: President Woodrow Wilson's plan for world peace after the war.

League of Nations: international assembly proposed by Woodrow Wilson that aimed to peacefully settle conflict between countries of the world.


socialism & communism: two ideologies that opposed capitalism in the 19th and 20th century and called for workers to control the key industries and government.

Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W): a radical labor union that wanted to bring socialism to the United States.

Red Scare: a wave of fear that communism and socialism would succeed in bringing down the U.S. government. (The First Red Scare was in the 1920s, the Second Red Scare was in the 1950s)

restrictions on immigration: 1920s legislation that severely limited the number of immigrants that could come to the United States.

Eighteenth Amendment: This constitutional amendment made Prohibition of Alcohol the law in the entire United States.

Nineteenth Amendment: gave women the right to vote

Advertising: nationwide campaigns on radio, in magazines, and at the movies to convince people to buy things such as cars and household appliances

Henry Ford: developer of the first mass-produced automobile and the assembly line, which revolutionized industry throughout the world.

mass produced automobile: the Model T Ford was the first car mass produced with Henry Ford's innovation of the assembly line. The mass production techniques enabled the cost of production to drop so dramatically that within a decade most working people could afford their own automobile

radio: first broadcasts of news, politics, sports, and entertainment over radio began to create a national identity which replaced regional identities and also created large audiences for advertisers.

movies: Radio and movies were a unifying force on national culture because the styles actors and actresses wore, activities they were engaged in, and products they were using was all being watched and listened to by Americans from all parts of the country simultaneously.

Harlem Renaissance: the first significant artistic movement coming out of Black culture. Centered in the Harlem borough of New York City, the movement produced notable works of literature, music, dance, and visual art.


Industrial overproduction- One of the causes of the Great Depression. Industries increased their productive capacity to produce and sell more goods.

Consumer overspending – One of the causes of the Great Depression. With cash to spend after World War I, Americans went on a spending spree. The development of the national consumer market in the United States and the advent of consumer credit further encouraged spending.

Under-consumption One of the causes of the Great Depression. After the Stock Market collapse in October 1929, consumers quit spending except for absolute necessities creating a surplus of goods in the market place.

Stock Market Crash The large numbers of stocks sold at the same time in October 1929.

Banking Panic- As unemployment increased, depositors began to withdraw more and more of their savings from their bank.

Dust Bowl: drought and dust clouds that lasted for 10 years around Oklahoma, sending hundreds of thousands of refugees to California.

Hoovervilles: Camps of homeless people during the Great Depression, named after President Herbert Hoover, who lost his 1932 re-election to Franklin Roosevelt.


New Deal: President Franklin Roosevelt’s series of government programs and regulations designed to fight the Great Depression

Relief, Recovery, and Reform: the “Three R’s”, which were the goals of the New Deal policies and programs.

Second New Deal: an additional series of New Deal Programs passed in 1934-35, the most important of which was the 1935 Social Security Act.

Social Security Act: Important social welfare legislation passed during the Second New Deal. It included old age pensions, unemployment insurance, and disability insurance.

“Pack the Court” By adding a judge to the Supreme Court for every justice who refused to retire after the age of 70, Roosevelt could appoint enough justices to uphold his New Deal programs. The scheme failed.

Eleanor Roosevelt: wife of president Franklin Roosevelt. Through her interest in political and humanitarian issues, she changed the role of First Lady.


1939 Neutrality Act: prior to U.S. entry into WWII, Allies could purchase supplies from the United States on a “Cash and Carry” basis.Lend-Lease Act: the United States could lend military equipment and supplies to any nation the president said was vital to the defense of the United StatesPearl Harbor: December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on the United States that brought America into World War II.Pacific Theater: the area in which the United States and Japan fought during World War II, covering much of East Asia and many islands in the Pacific Ocean.European Theater: the area in which the United States and her allies fought against Germany.

Island Hopping: In the Pacific Theater, the U.S. strategy of taking larger islands that could serve as landing strips and supply points for the US military while ignoring many smaller islands held by the Japanese.

Battle of Midway: the turning point in the Pacific Theater. The United States sunk 4 Japanese aircraft carriers and stopped Japan’s expansion in the Pacific Theater.

Manhattan Project: the top-secret plan to develop the atomic bomb.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: the two Japanese cities where the United States dropped atomic bombs, ending WWII.

D-Day: the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, which began the Allied advance to reclaim Europe.

Battle of Berlin: final battle of the European Theater

wartime conversion: changing of privately-owned factories to government control in order to supply the war effort.

Rationing: limits placed on the amount of food, gasoline, and other resources that could be purchased by citizens in order to conserve resources for the war effort.

Rosie the Riveter: fictional woman used in government campaigns to encourage women to enter the work force during World War II. 18 million women had entered the work force.

A. Philip Randolph black labor leader whose planned 1941 March on Washington encouraged President Roosevelt to issue an executive order prohibiting discrimination on government contracted jobs.

Executive Order 9066: Roosevelt’s executive order authorizing the internment of Japanese Americans on the West Coast.


Cold War: a struggle for political, economic, and military superiority between the United States and the Soviet Union between 1945 and 1991.

Containment: United States economic, political, and military policy of preventing the spread of communism beyond the nations where it existed in 1945.

Marshall Plan: economic aid to 22 Western European nations, designed to prevent them from supporting communism

Truman Doctrine: United States’ political policy of using any means necessary to stop the spread of communism

Korean War: 1950-53 war between communist North Korean forces and U.S.-backed South Korean forces.

G.I. Bill of Rights: aid program for returning World War II veterans that included low-interest home loans, extended unemployment benefits, and money to attend college.

National Interstate and Defense Highways Act: 1956 law that created a national system of highways. Though originally designed as a means to transport military troops and supplies throughout the country, the Act changed population patterns and led to the growth of suburbia.

McCarthyism: using the fear of communism for political advantage in the 1950s.

executive order 9981: 1948 executive order signed by President Truman desegregating the armed forces of the United States.

Brown v. Board of Education: 1954 Supreme Court decision that ruled “separate but equal” to be unconstitutional.

Sputnik I: first man-made satellite launched into orbit by the Soviet Union in 1957.

science and math education: 1950s and 60s effort by the United States government to invest more money in these areas in order to overcome the perceived Soviet technological advantages.


Bay of Pigs Invasion: failed US-backed invasion of Cuba. Pushed Cuban dictator Fidel Castro closer to Soviet Union.

Cuban Missile Crisis: standoff between the United States and USSR over Soviet plans to place nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Fidel Castro: Cuban dictator from the late 1950s until 2016.

Vietnam War: War between communist North Vietnamese and U.S.-backed South Vietnamese that ended in a communist victory in 1975.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: law passed by Congress in 1964 that authorized President Johnson to send troops to Vietnam

Assassination of John F. Kennedy: November 22, 1963 event that led to Lyndon Johnson becoming president.

Civil Rights Act of 1964: law that made racial segregation illegal.

Voting Rights Act of 1965: law that ended various measures that kept blacks from being able to vote.

Great Society: social welfare programs of Lyndon Johnson, including the War On Poverty, Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start

Kennedy/Nixon Debates: first televised presidential debates in 1960

Moon Landing: July 1969 event watched by millions of Americans on television

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC): Civil rights organization led by Martin Luther King Jr that grew out of the Montgomery Bus Boycotts.

Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC): Civil Rights organization that grew out of the Greensboro sit-ins in 1960.

Letter From A Birmingham Jail: Martin Luther King Jr’s moving explanation for the tactics of the Civil Rights movement.

I Have A Dream Speech: Martin Luther King Jr’s speech given at the 1963 March on Washington. Leads to increased public support for the Civil Rights Act.

United Farm Workers Cesar Chavez’s union of agricultural workers.Cesar Chavez

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr: led to riots in most major U.S. cities

Assassination of Robert Kennedy: Robert, JFK’s brother, might have become president in 1968.

Tet Offensive: turning point in Vietnam War. Television images helped turn U.S public opinion against American involvement in Vietnam.

1968 Election: Richard Nixon becomes president of the United States.


withdraw from Southeast Asia: United States leaves Vietnam in 1975, in part because of pressure from the Vietnam anti-war movement

normalizing relations with the People's Republic of China: opened China for business with the United States and China withdrew support for North Vietnam

War Powers Act: 1973 policy requiring Congress to authorize troop commitments within a certain time frame. The measure redistributed power to conduct military operations between the executive and legislative branches.

Camp David Accords: agreement negotiated by U.S. President Jimmy Carter between Israel and Egypt that was a step towards peace in the Middle East.

Iranian Revolution: overthrow of a pro-U.S. Iranian government by Islamic fundamentalists.

Iranian Hostage Crisis: staff of the American Embassy in Iran is held hostage from November 1979 until January 1981.

Environmental Protection Agency: cabinet level department created to monitor the environment and enforce new laws passed by Congress such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act

National Organization of Women: group whose goals included the promotion of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), the repeal of all abortion laws, and the creation of publicly funded child care.

President Nixon’s resignation: 1974 President Nixon resigned his office instead of facing impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal.

Watergate scandal: cover-up by President Nixon of a burglary at the Democratic headquarters by Republican operatives.

Ford pardoned former President Nixon: this prevented a trial and likely prison sentence for the former president, and probably caused Gerald Ford to lose the 1976 presidential election.


Collapse of the Soviet Union: the U.S.S.R’s inability to keep up with America’s increased military spending in the 1980s, along with the economic reforms of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev led to the end of the Cold War and the USSR in 1991.

Impeachment of Bill Clinton: he was accused of perjury and obstruction of justice. The charges were based on accusations of improper use of money from a real estate deal and allegations that Clinton lied under oath about the improper relationship he had with a White House intern.

September 11 Attacks: terrorists crashed hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon,

War on Terrorism: U.S attacked Afghanistan and Iraq

Reaganomics: economic policies of President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Basically: Reduce taxes, reduce spending, reduce regulation, and reduce inflation.

Personal Computers: made possible by invention of microprocessor in 1971, making computers small enough for home use.

Internet: made instant communication of documents, messages, and information possible and changed the way business was conducted

Social Media Social media is becoming a source for news and instant information sharing. Concerns: cyberbullying and fake news

Presidential Election of 2008: Election of Barrack Obama

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