Reconstruction Vocabulary



|Reconstruction Vocabulary |

|Vocabulary Term |Definition |

|NAACP |* the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People |

| | |

| |* Challenged segregation laws |

| |* Fought for equal rights for blacks |

|Discrimination |treating someone unfairly because of their race, gender, religion, or place of birth |

|Racial | |

| |having to do with someone's race (i.e. color of their skin) |

|Segregation | |

| |separation of groups of people, especially by race |

|Poll Tax |money that a person must pay before they could vote (used to discriminate against |

| |Blacks) |

|Literacy Test | |

| |a test requiring a person to prove they could read and write in order to vote (used to |

| |discriminate against Blacks) |

|Grandfather |allowed a person to vote if their grandfather had voted before Reconstruction began |

|Clauses |(used if the person failed the literacy test) |

|Jim Crow | |

|laws |laws enforcing segregation in the South after the Civil War |

|Lynching | |

| |killing a person by a mob without a trial |

| | |

|Prejudice |an unfair opinion not based on facts (to judge someone before you know the truth about |

| |them) |

|Exodusters | |

| |freed slaves who moved to Kansas to escape the racism of the South |

|Amendment | |

| |a change to the constitution |

| | |

| | |

Moving West Vocabulary

|Vocabulary Word |Definition |

|Ore |A mineral mined for the valuable substance it contains, such as silver |

|Subsidy |Money from the government given to a person or a company for an action intended to benefit the |

| |public |

|Transcontinental |Extending across a continent |

|Open range |Land not fenced or divided into lots |

|Vaquero |Hispanic ranch hand |

|Homestead |To acquire a piece of U.S. public land by living on and farming it for 5 years |

|Sodbuster |A name given to a plains farmer |

|Dry farming |A way of farming dry land in which seeds are planted deep in the ground where there is some moisture|

|Nomadic |Moving from place to place with no permanent home |

|Reservation |An area of public lands set aside for Native Americans |

Industrialization Vocabulary Words

1. Industrial Revolution – the era in which a change took place from household industries to factory production using powered machinery

2. agrarian society – a society based on farming (agriculture) for its economic basis (the way it makes money)

3. industrial society – a society based on industry (big business) for its economic basis

4. specialized industries – industries that deal with specific products such as meat-packing or steel

5. “captains of industry” – leaders of big business/ industries such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie

6. urbanization – having to do with cities or towns

7. mechanization – replace people or animals by machinery

8. organized labor – groups of workers from the same line of work, such as printers, joined together to promote their business

9. merit system – a system that rewards jobs to people according to worth or value

Immigration Vocabulary Words

| Term |Definition |

|assimilate |to absorb a small group of people into the culture of a larger population |

|emigrate |to leave one’s homeland to live elsewhere |

|ethnic group |a minority that speaks a different language or follows different customs than the majority of people in a country |

|ghetto |a part of a city in which a minority group lives because of social or economic pressure |

|passport |a document issued by a citizen’s home government that identifies a person and allows them to travel to other |

| |countries |

|pogroms |organized and often violent persecutions of minority groups |

|quota |a limit based on numbers or percentage |

|refugees |people who flee their homes or countries because of war, persecution, or other causes |

|settlement house |institution located in a poor neighborhood that provided many community services such as medical care, child care, |

| |libraries, and classes in English |

|slum |poor, crowded, and run-down urban neighborhoods |

|steerage |cramped quarters on a ship’s lower decks for passengers paying the lowest fares |

|suburb |residential areas that sprang up close to cities as a result of improvements in transportation |

|sweatshop |a shop or factory where workers work long hours at low wages under unhealthy conditions |

|tenement |a building in which several families rent rooms or apartments, often with little sanitation or safety |

Progressive Era Vocabulary

|TERMS |DEFINITIONS IN YOUR OWN WORDS |

|1. 18TH Amendment |Change in the U.S. Constitution that outlawed making, buying and selling alcoholic beverages |

|2. 19th Amendment |Change in the U.S. Constitution that gave women the right to vote in all states |

|3. American Federation of Labor |An organization of workers (labor union) that focused on helping workers gain higher wages and |

| |better working conditions |

|4. Child labor |Situation in which children worked like adults in factories |

|5. Homestead Strike |Labor dispute in 1892 when steelworkers lost union help (representation) until the 1930’s |

|6. Organized labor |Groups of workers who bargain together (united) for better work situations |

|7. Progressives |Followers of the movement that called for reform of social problems such as slums |

|8. Prohibition |Forbidding by law of the making or selling of alcoholic beverages |

|9. Reform |To make something better by change |

|10. Restriction |To limit or not allow something (ex: rules or boundaries) |

|11. Strike |To make or achieve a balance or bargain by refusing to work |

|12. Suffrage |The right to vote |

|13. Temperance |Totally avoiding alcoholic beverages; moderate use of a controlled substance |

|14. Unions |Organizations of wage-earners formed for the purpose of helping members with gaining better |

| |wages and working conditions |

|15. Wages |Money earned/ Pay for a job |

Imperialism/World War I Vocab

|Terms |Definitions in your own words |

|Anarchy |Disorder and lawlessness |

|Annexation |Bringing an area under the control of a larger country |

|“Big Stick Diplomacy” |International policy of Theodore Roosevelt when he stated that the United States should, “Walk softly |

| |but carry a big stick”: included military intervention for our neighbors and allies. |

|Dollar Diplomacy |The policy of joining the business interests of a country with its diplomatic interests abroad. |

|Expansionism |A policy that calls for expanding a nation’s boundaries (EXPANDING) |

|Guam |Island in the Western Pacific, east of the Philippines and owned by the United States |

|Imperialism |The actions used by one nation to exercise political or economic control over smaller or weaker nations |

|Internationalism |Principle of international cooperation for the good of all nations |

|Isolationism |A national policy of avoiding involvement in world affairs |

|Isthmus |A narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas (such as continents) |

|Open-Door Policy |A policy that allowed each foreign nation in China to trade freely in the other nations’ spheres of |

| |influence |

|Possession (territory) |Territory under the rule of a country |

|Protectorate |A country that is technically independent but is actually under the control of another country |

|Rough Riders |Members of a volunteer cavalry regiment commanded by Theodore Roosevelt and Leonard Wood during the |

| |Spanish-American War |

|Spanish-American War |War between Spain and the United States in 1898, fought chiefly in Cuba and the Philippines |

|Spheres of Influence |Sections of a country where one foreign nation enjoys special rights and powers |

|World Power |Nation having such military or other power as to be able to exert a decisive influence on the course of |

| |world affairs |

|Yellow Journalism |Writing which exaggerates sensational, dramatic, and gruesome events to attract readers, named for |

| |stories that were popular during the late 1800’s; A type of sensational, biased, and often false |

| |reporting |

Unit 4: The 1920s Vocabulary

|Term |Definition |

|Assembly line |An arrangement of workers, machines, and equipment in which the product being assembled passes from |

| |operation to operation until completed |

|Bootleggers |People who transported or sold illegal liquor during the Prohibition era of the 1920s |

|Flapper |A young woman in the 1920s who rebelled against how society thought she should behave and dress |

|Great Migration north |Movement of African Americans from the South to the North in search of better jobs and less discrimination |

| |in the early 20th century |

|Harlem Renaissance |A flowering of African American art, poetry, and writing during the 1920s, centered in the New York City |

| |neighborhood known as Harlem |

|“Jazz Age” |The period in American history when African and European musical traditions blended, creating the unique |

| |American music known as jazz; famous jazz musicians were Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong |

|Mass Media |Types of communication that reach lots of people (radio, newspaper, magazines) |

|Prohibition |Law against the making or selling alcohol or alcoholic beverages. The term also applies to the period of |

| |history between 1920 and 1933 when the making and selling of alcoholic beverages was forbidden by the 18th |

| |Amendment |

|“Roaring 20s” |Phrase used to describe the drastic changes in the United States during the 1920s; major changes included |

| |social (fashion), economic (big business), and civic (laws) |

|Speakeasies |Illegal saloons that sprang up across the United States following the passage of the 18th Amendment in 1919,|

| |beginning a 14-year period of Prohibition |

|Temperance Movement |The campaign to outlaw the making and consumption of alcoholic beverages |

Great Depression Vocabulary

|Vocabulary Word |Definition |

|Default |to not do something you were supposed to do (like pay a bill) |

|Relief |help for the needy (like jobs or money) |

|Public Works |projects like highways, parks, and libraries that are built using tax money |

|Great Depression |the severe economic crisis that happened during the 1930s |

|(p. 725) | |

|Hoovervilles |shanty towns (built out of boxes, tents, etc) during the Great Depression named for President Hoover because he didn't |

|(p. 727) |help to fix the Great Depression |

|Subsidy |money the government gives to a person or company so that they will eventually help others |

|Work Relief |programs that gave unemployed people jobs |

|New Deal |the ideas that FDR came up with and that Congress approved to help solve the problems of the Great Depression |

|Dust Bowl |the name given to the area of the southern Great Plain that suffered from a lack of rain (drought) and dust storms |

|Migrant Worker |a person who moves from place to place to find work picking fruits and vegetables |

|Federal Reserve |a federal agency that regulates banking |

|Pension |money paid to a person on a regular basis, usually after they retire |

|Stock |shares of ownership in a company which can be bought and sold for money |

|Credit/Margin |a form of a loan; borrowing money that will be paid back later with interest |

World War II Vocabulary: Battles and Maneuvers

|Vocabulary Word |Definition |

|Blitzkrieg |Term for Germany's fast, violent attacks during World War II (means: "lightning war") |

|Invasion |Entering by force as an enemy in order to conquer |

|Poland |The first nation invaded by Germany; the event that started World War II |

|Battle of Britain |Germany’s attempt to conquer Great Britain. It started when Germany began bombing London in 1941 |

|Pearl Harbor |The Japanese attack on the United States naval fleet in Hawaii that brought the United States into World War II in |

| |December of 1941. |

|Battle of Stalingrad |The war in Europe reached a turning point when Russia defeated Germany near Stalingrad in 1943 |

|D-Day |June 6, 1944; Allied invasion on the beaches of Normandy, France to liberate (free) western Europe |

|Battle of Midway |The war in the Pacific reached a turning point with the Allied victory near Midway |

|Kamikaze |A Japanese suicide pilot during World War II whose mission was to crash into his target |

|Hiroshima & Nagasaki |The two Japanese cities on which the United States dropped atomic bombs to end World War II in 1945 |

| |A type of government controlled by citizens either directly or |

|Democracy |through elected representatives |

| |A type of government that controls most parts of people’s lives, |

|Totalitarian |& the people can’t complain |

| |A type of government, run by one person (dictator), that requires|

|Facism |the people of the country to be extremely loyal and is often |

| |racist |

| |An economic and social system in which most or all property is |

|Communism |owned by the state or community as a whole and is shared by all |

| |A policy of racist nationalist, national expansion, and state |

|Nazism |control of the economy practiced by the Nazis in Germany |

| |A leader who completely rules a country; they are usually cruel |

|Dictator | |

| |Accepting a person’s or a country’s demands in order to avoid a |

|Appeasement |fight or a war |

| |Law passed during World War II that allowed the US to sell, lend,|

|Lend-Lease |or lease war supplies to nations that would defend the US |

| |To limit the distribution of scarce items |

|Ration | |

| |Belief that Caucasian, non-Jewish people are superior to all |

|Aryan Supremacy |other people |

| |Violence and discrimination against Jews |

|Anti-Semitism | |

| |The intentional killing of an entire group of people based on |

|Genocide |religion, culture, and politics |

| |Places of detainment for Japanese-Americans during World War II |

|Internment Camp | |

| |Hitler’s places of containment to hold, torture, or kill millions|

|Concentration Camp |of Jews and other non-Aryans |

| | |

| | |

Cold War Vocabulary

|Vocabulary Word |Definition |

| | |

|Cold War |the global struggle for power and influence between the United States and the Soviet Union that followed World War II |

| | |

|bipolar |organized around two opposite extremes |

| |(EX: U.S. capitalism as opposed to Soviet communism) |

| | |

|containment |the U.S. policy of fighting the spread of communism by limiting it to countries where it already existed |

| | |

|arms race |a competition to develop more and more powerful weapons |

| | |

|proxy wars |wars in which the superpowers backed different sides that acted as substitutes (proxies) for the superpowers themselves|

| | |

|iron curtain |the political and military barrier that isolated Soviet-controlled countries of Eastern Europe after World War II |

| | |

|airlift |a system of transporting food and supplies by aircraft into an area otherwise impossible to reach |

| | |

|demilitarized zone |a region where no military forces or weapons are permitted |

| | |

|blacklist |list of persons who are disapproved of and are punished, such as by being refused jobs |

| | |

|Domino theory |the belief that if one nation in Asia fell to the Communists, neighboring countries would follow |

Modern America Vocab

1. Segregation: The separation or isolation of a race, class or group

2. Integration: The end of the policy or custom of segregation; Inclusion of people of all races,on an equal basis in schools, parks, neighborhoods, employment, etc.

3. Domestic policy: relating to a nation's internal affairs: having to do with the internal affairs (issues of the nation at home) of a nation or country

4. Foreign policy: decisions a government makes that deal with or become involved with a country or countries other than its own

5. Communications: Any system by which we send information or materials from one place or person to another, including by telephone, telegraph, television, radio, internet, etc.

6. Manhattan Project: The project organized by the U.S. government in 1942 to produce the first atomic bomb. This project led to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan to end WWII.

7. Transistor: A small electronic device containing semiconductors such as germanium or silicon, used instead of a vacuum tube to amplify or control the flow of electrons in an electric circuit

8. Franchising: Selling or buying the privilege or right to sell the products of a manufacturer in a given area

9. Passive: Being acted on without acting in return; not resisting

10. Non-violent: Not violent; peaceful; the belief in the use of peaceful methods to achieve any goal

11. Freedom Rider: a civil rights activist who, during the early 1960s, joined one of the interracial groups riding buses through parts of the southern United States to protest against racial segregation

12. Sit-in: The act of occupying seats or sitting down on the floor of an establishment as a form of organized protest

13. Title IX: Law passed by the U.S. Congress in 1972 that states: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance

14. Legislation: the making of laws; the laws made by a legislature or legislator

15. Boycott: To refuse to buy items from a particular country (or company); to refuse to use in order to show disapproval or force acceptance of one’s terms

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