Margaret Sanger (1883-1966)
American leader of the movement to legalize birth control during the early 1900s. As a nurse in the poor sections of New York City, she had seen the suffering caused by unwanted pregnancy. Founded the first birth control clinic in the U.S. and the America
Edward Ross (1866-1951)
Sociologist who promoted "social psychology" the belief that social environment affected the behavior of individuals. He believed that practical solutions to current problems should be derived through the united efforts of church, state and science, and t
Richard Ely (1854-1943)
He asserted that economic theory should reflect social conditions, and believed that the government should act to regulate the economy to prevent social injustice.
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 offi
Direct Primary
An election where people directly elect their party's candidates for office. Candidates had previously been selected by party caucuses that were considered elitist and undemocratic. This made elected official more accountable to the people.
16th, 17th, 18th and 19th Amendments
1913 - 16th Amendment authorized Congress to levy an income tax. 1913 - 17th Amendment gave the power to elect senators to the people. Senators had previously been appointed by the legislatures of their states. 1919 - 18th Amendment prohibited the manufac
Charles Evans Hughes (1862-1948)
Started government regulation of public utilities. He was Secretary of State under Harding and later became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was the Republican candidate in 1916, and lost to Wilson by less that 1% of the vote.
Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire
A fire in New York's Triangle Shirtwaist Company in 1911 killed 146 people, mostly women. They died because the doors were locked and the windows were too high for them to get to the ground. Dramatized the poor working conditions and let to federal re
Anti-Saloon League
National organization set up in 1895 to work for prohibition. Later joined with the WCTU to publicize the effects of drinking.
Square Deal
Roosevelt used this term to declare that he would use his powers as president to safeguard the rights of the workers.
Newlands Reclamation Act, 1902
Authorized the use of federal money to develop the west, it helped to protect national resources.
Forest Reserve Act, 1891
First national forest conservation policy, authorized the president to set aside areas of land for national forests.
Anthracite Coal Strike, 1902, George F. Baer
Large strike by coal miners. Baer led the miner's union at the time.
Elkins Act, 1903, Rebates
This strengthened earlier federal legislation that outlawed preferential pricing through rebates. Rebates are returns of parts of the amount paid for goods or services, serving as a reduction or discount. This act also prohibited railroads from transporti
Hepburn Act, 1906
It imposed stricter control over railroads and expanded powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission, including giving the ICC the power to set maximum rates.
Mann-Elkins Act, 1910
Signed by Taft, it bolstered the regulatory powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission and supported labor reforms. It gave the ICC the power to prosecute its own inquiries into violations of its regulations.
Trustbuster
Nicknamed for Teddy Roosevelt, this is a federal official who seeks to dissolve monopolistic trusts through vigorous enforcement of antitrust laws.
Northern Securities Company Case
The Supreme Court ordered this company to dissolve because it was a trust.
Meat Inspection Act
1906 - Laid down binding rules for sanitary meat packing and government inspection of meat products crossing state lines.
Upton Sinclair, The Jungle
The author who wrote a book about the horrors of food productions in 1906, the bad quality of meat and the dangerous working conditions.
Pure Food and Drug Act
1906 - Forbade the manufacture or sale of mislabeled or adulterated food or drugs, it gave the government broad powers to ensure the safety and efficacy of drugs in order to abolish the "patent" drug trade. Still in existence as the FDA.
Conservation Conference, 1908
An environmental conference to study the nation's natural resources and how to conserve them.
Panic of 1907
Caused by mistrust for and lowered confidence in bankers.
Mark Hanna (1839-1904)
Prominent Republican senator and businessman, he was Republican campaign manager.
Scientific Management, Frederick W. Taylor
1911 - Increased industrial output by rationalizing and refining the production process.
Wisconsin, "Laboratory of Democracy
Wisconsin was called the "Laboratory of Democracy"; because many of the reform ideas of the Progressive era came out of Wisconsin, specifically from Robert M. LaFollette.
Robert M. LaFollette (1855-1925)
A great debater and political leader who believed in libertarian reforms, he was a major leader of the Progressive movement from Wisconsin.
Regulatory Commissions
Formed to set safety standards and to enforce fair practices of business competition for the sake of the U.S. public.
Florence Kelley, Consumerism
Founded the National Consumers League, which wanted legislation to protect consumers from being cheated or harmed by big business.
Home Rule for Cities
The idea was that the people of a city should decide how the city is run.
Tom Johnson, Sam (Golden Rule) Jones, Brand Witlock, Hazen Pingree
Mayors for social reform, they wanted a reform of values over more legislation.
City Manager Plan, Commission Plan
Legislation designed to break up political machines and replace traditional political management of cities with trained professional urban planners and managers.
Department of Labor
Originally started in 1903 as the Department of Commerce and Labor, it was combined with the Bureau of Corporations in 1913 to create the Department of Labor
Payne-Aldrich Tariff, 1909
With the fear of foreign competition gone, it lowered rates to 38%. Democrats felt it did not go far enough and passed the Underwood Tariff in 1913 to further lower taxes.
Ballinger-Pinchot Controversy
Cabinet members who had fought over conservation efforts and how much effort and money should be put into conserving national resources. Pinchot, head of the Forestry Department, accused Ballinger, Secretary of the Interior, of abandoning federal conserva
Dollar Diplomacy
Taft and Knox came up with it to further foreign policy in the U.S. in 1909-1913 under the Roosevelt Corollary. It was meant to avoid military intervention by giving foreign countries monetary aid.
Secretary of State Knox (1853-1920)
Developed dollar diplomacy with Taft, he encouraged and protected U.S. investment abroad.
Roosevelt's Osawatomie, Kansas Speech
Teddy Roosevelt's speech given in Kansas on his Square Deal and "Stick" foreign policy. Roosevelt said, "speak softly and carry a big stick.
Bull Moose Party
The Progressive Party, it was Roosevelt's party in the 1912 election. He ran as a Progressive against Republican Taft, beating him but losing to Democrat Woodrow Wilson.
Woodrow Wilson, New Freedom
He believed that monopolies had to be broken up and that the government must regulate business. He believed in competition, and called his economic plan "New Freedom.
Theodore Roosevelt, New Nationalism
A system in which government authority would be balanced and coordinate economic activity. Government would regulate business
Daniel DeLeon, IWW, Wobblies, "Big Bull" Haywood
DeLeon denounced populists because they believed in free enterprise. Haywood was the leader of the Wobblies. The International Workers of the World (Wobblies) were a militant, radical union. They favored socialism and opposed free enterprise. They were di
Pujo Committee
A committee formed to decide the fate of the Philippine Islands after the Spanish-American War.
Federal Reserve Act
Regulated banking to help small banks stay in business. A move away from laissez-faire policies, it was passed by Wilson.
Underwood-Simmons Tariff
October 13, 1913 - Lowered tariffs on hundreds of items that could be produced more cheaply in the U.S. than abroad.
Income Tax
The first step toward building government revenues and redistributing wealth, a tax that was levied on annual income over a specific amount and with certain legally permitted deductions.
Federal Trade Commission, Cease and Desist Orders
A government agency established in 1914 to prevent unfair business practices and help maintain a competitive economy.
Clayton Antitrust Act, labor's Magna Carta
1914 - Extended the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 to give it more power against trusts and big business. It outlawed practices that had a dangerous likelihood of creating a monopoly, even if no unlawful agreement was involved.
Federal Highways Act, 1916
Passed by Wilson, it provided federal money to build roads. It helped to provide competition to the railroads' monopoly on public transportation.
Adamson Act, 1916
Wilson pushed passage of this act which mandated an eight hour workday and time and a half for overtime.
Smith-Lever Act, Smith-Hughes Act
1917-Established the U.S.'s first Food Administration with the authority to fix food prices, license distributors, coordinate purchases, oversee exports, act against hoarding and profiteering, and encourage farmers to grow more crops.
Triple Entente; Allies
Britain, France and Russia all had economic and territorial ambitions and they all disliked Germany, so they formed an alliance for protection.
Triple Alliance; Central Powers
Germany, Austria and Hungary formed an alliance for protection from the Triple Entente. Lusitania, Arabic Pledge, Sussex Pledge: May 7, 1915 - British passenger ships were regularly sunk by German subs, but the Lusitania had Americans aboard and brought t
Zimmerman Note
1917 - Germany sent this to Mexico instructing an ambassador to convince Mexico to go to war with the U.S. It was intercepted and caused the U.S. to mobilize against Germany, which had proven it was hostile.
Russian Revolutions, 1917, March and Bolshevik
After years of oppression, the peasants rebelled against the czars. The first government was democratic and weak, so another revolution overthrew that government and instituted a Communist government lead by the Bolshevik party under Lenin. Lenin pulled R
Make the World Safe for Democracy
Wilson gave this as a reason for U.S. involvement in WWI.
Creel Committee
Headed by George Creel, this committee was in charge of propaganda for WWI (1917-1919). He depicted the U.S. as a champion of justice and liberty.
Bond Drives
Campaigns to get people to but government war bonds to finance the war, people traveled around America selling them and it was extremely successful in raising funds.
War Industries Board
The most powerful agency of the war, it had to satisfy the allied needs for goods and direct American industries in what to produce.
Bernard Baruch
Millionaire, he headed the War Industries Board after 1918.
Herbert Hoover, Food Administration
He led the Food Administration and started many programs to streamline food production and distribution.
Espionage Act, 1917; Sedition Act, 1918
Brought forth under the Wilson administration, they stated that any treacherous act or draft dodging was forbidden, outlawed disgracing the government, the Constitution, or military uniforms, and forbade aiding the enemy.
AEF
American Expeditionary Force was the first American ground troops to reach the European front. Commanded by Pershing, they began arriving in France in the summer of 1917.
Selective Service
1917 - Stated that all men between the ages of 20 and 45 had to be registered for possible military service. Used in case draft became necessary.
Fourteen Points
Wilson's idea that he wanted included in the WWI peace treaty, including freedom of the seas and the League of Nations.
D-Day
June 6, 1944 - Led by Eisenhower, over a million troops (the largest invasion force in history) stormed the beaches at Normandy and began the process of re-taking France. The turning point of World War II.
Stalingrad
Site of critical World War II Soviet victory that reversed Germany's advance to the East. In late 1942, Russian forces surrounded the Germans, and on Feb. 2, 1943, the German Sixth Army surrendered. First major defeat for the Germans in World War II.
Winston Churchill
Prime minister of Great Britain during World War II.
Casablanca Conference
Jan. 14-23, 1943 - FDR and Churchill met in Morocco to settle the future strategy of the Allies following the success of the North African campaign. They decided to launch an attack on Italy through Sicily before initiating an invasion into France over th
Tehran Conference
December, 1943 - A meeting between FDR, Churchill and Stalin in Iran to discuss coordination of military efforts against Germany, they repeated the pledge made in the earlier Moscow Conference to create the United Nations after the war's conclusion to hel
Unconditional Surrender
It means the victor decides all the conditions the loser must agree to. The Allies wanted Germany and Japan to agree to unconditional surrender.
Okinawa
The U.S. Army in the Pacific had been pursuing an "island-hopping" campaign, moving north from Australia towards Japan. On April 1, 1945, they invaded Okinawa, only 300 miles south of the Japanese home islands. By the time the fighting ended on June 2, 19
Battle of the Bulge
December, 1944-January, 1945 - After recapturing France, the Allied advance became stalled along the German border. In the winter of 1944, Germany staged a massive counterattack in Belgium and Luxembourg which pushed a 30 mile "bulge" into the Allied line
Manhattan Project
A secret U.S. project for the construction of the atomic bomb.
Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967)
Physics professor at U.C. Berkeley and Caltech, he headed the U.S. atomic bomb project in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He later served on the Atomic Energy Commission, although removed for a time the late 1950s, over suspicion he was a Communist sympathizer.
Atomic Bomb
A bomb that uses the fission of radioactive elements such as uranium or plutonium to create explosions equal to the force of thousands of pounds of regular explosives.
Hiroshima, Nagasaki
First and second cities to be hit by atomic bombs, they were bombed after Japan refused to surrender and accept the Potsdam Declaration. Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, 1945 and Nagasaki was bombed on August 9, 1945.
Yalta Conference
February, 1945 - Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta to make final war plans, arrange the post-war fate of Germany, and discuss the proposal for creation of the United Nations as a successor to the League of Nations. They announced the decision t
Potsdam Conference
July 26, 1945 - Allied leaders Truman, Stalin and Churchill met in Germany to set up zones of control and to inform the Japanese that if they refused to surrender at once, they would face total destruction.
Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970)
He formed the French resistance movement in London immediately after the French surrender at Vichy. He was elected President of the Free French government in exile during the war and he was the first provisional president of France after its liberation.
Winston Churchill (1874-1965), "Iron Curtain" Speech
March, 1946 - He reviewed the international response to Russian aggression and declared an "iron curtain" had descended across Eastern Europe.
Joseph Stalin (1879-1953)
After Lenin died in 1924, he defeated Trotsky to gain power in the U.S.S.R. He created consecutive five year plans to expand heavy industry. He tried to crush all opposition and ruled as the absolute dictator of he U.S.S.R. until his death.
Satellite Nations
Eastern European countries conquered by the U.S.S.R. during the Cold War.
Nuremberg Trials
19 out of 22 German civil and military leaders were found guilty of "war crimes." 12 were sentenced to death, 3 to life sentences and the rest to five to twenty year sentences.
Containment, George F. Kennan
A member of the State Department, he felt that the best way to keep Communism out of Europe was to confront the Russians wherever they tried to spread their power.
League of Nations
Devised by President Wilson, it reflected the power of large countries. Although comprised of delegates from every country, it was designed to be run by a council of the five largest countries. It also included a provision for a world court.
Collective Security
An Article 10 provision of the League charter, it stated that if one country was involved in a confrontation, other nations would support it. Collective security is agreements between countries for mutual defense and to discourage aggression.
New Nations, Self Determination
After WW I, Germany, Eastern Europe and the western portion of the former Russian Empire split into new countries. Wilson wanted them to have their own governments.
Reparations
As part of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was ordered to pay fines to the Allies to repay the costs of the war. Opposed by the U.S., it quickly lead to a severe depression in Germany.
Article 10 (Article X) of the Versailles Treaty
Created the League of Nations.
Article 231 of the Versailles Treaty
One of the more controversial articles, it dealt with the legal liability of Germany vs. the moral liability. Senate Rejection, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Reservations: Lodge was against the League of Nations, so he packed the foreign relations committee
Irreconcilables" Borah, Johnson, LaFollette
Some Senators would have been willing to support the League of Nations if certain reservations were made to the treaty. The "Irreconcilables" voted against the League of Nations with or without reservations.
Red Scare, Palmer Raids
In 1919, the Communist Party was gaining strength in the U.S., and Americans feared Communism. In January, 1920, Palmer raids in 33 cities broke into meeting halls and homes without warrants. 4,000 "Communists" were jailed, some were deported.
Normalcy
Harding wanted a return to "normalcy" - the way life was before WW I.
Harding Scandals
Charles Forbes: Forbes served time for fraud and bribery in connection with government contracts. He took millions of dollars from the Veteran's Bureau.
Harding Scandals
Harry Daugherty: Daugherty was implicated for accepting bribes.
Harding Scandals Secretary of the Interior Fall
Fall leased government land to the oil companies (Teapot Dome Scandal) and was convicted of accepting a bribe.
Harding Scandals
Teapot Dome: 1929 - The Naval strategic oil reserve at Elk Hills, also known as "Teapot Dome" was taken out of the Navy's control and placed in the hands of the Department of the Interior, which leased the land to oil companies. Several Cabinet members re
Harding Scandals
Harry Sinclair: He leased government land to the oil companies and was forced to resign due to the investigation. He was acquitted on the bribery charges.
Secretary of the Treasury Mellon, Tax Cuts
An American financier, he was appointed Secretary of the Treasury by President Harding in 1921 and served under Coolidge and Hoover. While he was in office, the government reduced the WW I debt by $9 billion and Congress cut income tax rates substantially
The Lost Generation
Writer Gertrude Stein named the new literary movement when she told Hemingway, "You are all a lost generation," referring to the many restless young writers who gathered in Paris after WW I. Hemingway used the quote in The Sun Also Rises. They thought tha
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Most critics regard this as his finest work. Written in 1925, it tells of an idealist who is gradually destroyed by the influence of the wealthy, pleasure-seeking people around him.
Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms
He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954 and the Pulitzer Prize in 1952. A Farewell to Arms was written in 1929 and told the story of a love affair between an American ambulance driver and a British nurse in Italy during WW I.
T.S. Elliot, "The Waste Land
One of the most influential poets of the early 20th century, he had been born in St. Louis, Missouri, but moved to England after college and spent his adult life in Europe. The poem, written in 1922, contrasts the spiritual bankruptcy of modern Europe wit
KDKA, Pittsburgh
One of the first radio stations to pioneer in commercial radio broadcasting in 1920. By 1922 there were 508 radio stations.
Prohibition, Volstead Act, Al Capone
Prohibition - 1919: the 18th Amendment outlawed the manufacture or sale of intoxicating liquors. Volstead Act - 1919: Defined what drinks constituted "intoxicating liquors" under the 18th Amendment, and set penalties for violations of prohibitio
Fundamentalists
Broad movement in Protestantism in the U.S. which tried to preserve what it considered the basic ideas of Christianity against criticism by liberal theologies. It stressed the literal truths of the Bible and creation.
Immigration Acts, 1921, 1924, Quota System
1921 - First legislation passed which restricted the number of immigrants. Quota was 357,800, which let in only 2% of the number of people of that nationality that were allowed in 1890. 1924 - Limited the number of immigrants to 150,000 per year.
Sacco and Vanzetti Case
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants charged with murdering a guard and robbing a shoe factory in Braintree, Mass. The trial lasted from 1920-1927. Convicted on circumstantial evidence, many believed they had been framed for the cr
Billy Sunday (1863-1935)
Baseball player and preacher, his baseball background helped him become the most popular evangelist minister of the time. Part of the Fundamentalist revival of the 1920s.
Scopes Trial, Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan
1925 - Prosecution of Dayton, Tennessee school teacher, John Scopes, for violation of the Butler Act, a Tennessee law forbidding public schools from teaching about evolution. Former Democratic presidential candidate, William Jennings Bryan, prosecuted the
Henry Ford, the Model T, Alfred P. Sloan
1913 - Ford developed the mass-produced Model-T car, which sold at an affordable price. It pioneered the use of the assembly line. Also greatly increased his workers wages and instituted many modern concepts of regular work hours and job benefits. Sloan,
The Jazz Singer
1927 - The first movie with sound, this "talkie" was about the life of famous jazz singer, Al Jolson.
Rudolph Valentino (1895-1926), Charlie Chaplin
Valentino, a romantic leading man, was one of the most popular dramatic stars of silent films. Chaplin was a popular star of silent slap-stick comedies.
New Woman, Flappers
1920s - Women started wearing short skirts and bobbed hair, and had more sexual freedom. They began to abandon traditional female roles and take jobs usually reserved for men.
Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes (1902-1967)
Hughes was a gifted writer who wrote humorous poems, stories, essays and poetry. Harlem was a center for black writers, musicians, and intellectuals.
Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), Universal Negro Improvement Association
Black leader who advocated "black nationalism" and financial independence for Blacks, he started the "Back to Africa" movement. He believed Blacks would not get justice in mostly white nations.
Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974), Spirit of St. Louis
Lindbergh flew his airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, across the Atlantic in the first transatlantic solo flight.
Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey
1920s sports heroes, Ruth set the baseball record of 60 home runs in one season and Dempsey was the heavyweight boxing champion.
Washington Disarmament Conference, 1921-1922
The U.S. and nine other countries discussed limits on naval armaments. They felt that a naval arms race had contributed to the start of WW I. They created quotas for different classes of ships that could be built by each country based on its economic powe
5-3- 1 Ratio
Tonnage ratio of the construction of large ships, it meant that Britain could only have 1 ship for every 3 ships in Japan, and Japan could only have 3 ships for every 5 ships in the U.S. Britain, U.S. and Japan agreed to dismantle some existing vessels to
Dawes Plan, Young Plan
Post-WW I depression in Germany left it unable to pay reparation and Germany defaulted on its payments in 1923. In 1924, U.S. Vice President Charles Dawes formulated a plan to allow Germany to make its reparation payments in annual installments. This plan
Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928
Pact of Paris" or "Treaty for the Renunciation of War," it made war illegal as a tool of national policy, allowing only defensive war. The Treaty was generally believed to be useless.
Fordney-McCumber Tariff, 1922
Pushed by Congress in 1922, it raised tariff rates.
Hawley-Smoot Tariff, 1930
Congressional compromise serving special interest, it raised duties on agricultural and manufactured imports. It may have contributed to the spread of the international depression.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation, RFC
Created in 1932 to make loans to banks, insurance companies, and railroads, it was intended to provide emergency funds to help businesses overcome the effects of the Depression. It was later used to finance wartime projects during WW II.
Bonus Army
1932 - Facing the financial crisis of the Depression, WW I veterans tried to pressure Congress to pay them their retirement bonuses early. Congress considered a bill authorizing immediate assurance of $2.4 billion, but it was not approved. Angry veterans
Hooverville
Name given to the makeshift shanty towns built in vacant lots during the Depression..
Good Neighbor Policy
Franklin Roosevelt described his foreign policy as that of a "good neighbor." The phrase came to be used to describe the U.S. attitude toward the countries of Latin America. Under Roosevelts "Good Neighbor Policy," the U.S. took the lead in promoting good
Twentieth Amendment
Written by George Norris and also called the "Lame Duck Amendment," it changed the inauguration date from March 4 to January 20 for president and vice president, and to January 3 for senators and representatives. It also said Congress must assemble at lea
Twenty-First Amendment
Passed February, 1933 to repeal the 18th Amendment (Prohibition). Congress legalized light beer. Took effect December, 1933. Based on recommendation of the Wickersham Commission that Prohibition had lead to a vast increase in crime.
Bank Holiday
March 11, 1933 - Roosevelt closed all banks and forbade the export of gold or redemption of currency in gold.
Hundred Days
March 9, 1933 - At Roosevelts request, Congress began a special session to review recovery and reform laws submitted by the President for Congressional approval. It actually lasted only 99 days.
Relief, recovery, reform
The first step in FDRs relief program was to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps in April, 1933. The chief measure designed to promote recovery was the National Industrial Recovery Act. The New Deal acts most often classified as reform measures were
Brain Trust
Many of the advisers who helped Roosevelt during his presidential candidacy continued to aid him after he entered the White House. A newspaperman once described the group as "Roosevelts Brain Trust." They were more influential than the Cabinet.
Emergency Banking Relief Act, 1933
March 6, 1933 - FDR ordered a bank holiday. Many banks were failing because they had too little capital, made too many planning errors, and had poor management. The Emergency Banking Relief Act provided for government inspection, which restored public con
Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act, 1933
Created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures the accounts of depositors of its member banks. It outlawed banks investing in the stock market.
Schechter Poultry Corp. v. U.S.
May, 1935 - The U.S. Supreme Court declared the National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional. It held that Congress had improperly delegated legislative authority to the National Industrial Recovery Administration and that the federal government had
Butler Case
1936 - Declared AAA unconstitutional because it involved Congress levying a tax against the general welfare.
NLRB v. Jones and Laughlin Steel Corp.
April 1937 - Supreme Court upheld the Wagner Act, ensuring the right to unionize, in a 5 to 4 decision. This decision signaled a change in the Court's attitude towards support of the New Deal and lead FDR to abandon his court-packing plan.
Jones Act
1916 - Promised Philippine independence. Given freedom in 1917, their economy grew as a satellite of the U.S. Filipino independence was not realized for 30 years.
Tydings-McDuffie Act, 1934, Philippines
In 1933 the U.S. had proposed granting the Philippines independence in 12 years while retaining its military bases there. The Philippines rejected the offer and asked for immediate commonwealth status with independence by 1946. The U.S. accepted their off
Nye Committee
Gerald Nye of North Dakota believed that the U.S. should stay out of foreign wars.
Neutrality Legislation
1935 - Upon the outbreak of war, all American exports would be embargoed for 6 months. 1936 - Gave the president the authority to determine when a state of war existed and prohibited loans to belligerents. 1937 - Gave the president the authority to determ
Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)
Fascist dictator of Italy from 1922-1943. Wanted to recreate the Roman Empire.
Panay Incident
1937 - On the Yangtze River in China, Japanese aircraft sank an American gunboat escorting tankers. The U.S. accepted Japan's apologies.
Quarantine Speech
1937 - In this speech Franklin D. Roosevelt compared Fascist aggression to a contagious disease, saying democracies must unite to quarantine aggressor nations.
Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), Nazism
German fascist dictator. Leader of the National Socialist Workers Party, or Nazis. Elected Chancellor of Germany in 1933, he quickly established himself as an absolute dictator.
Munich Conference, Appeasement, Neville Chamberlain
1938 - Hitler wanted to annex the Sudetenland, a portion of Czechoslovakia whose inhabitants were mostly German-speaking. On Sept. 29, Germany, Italy, France, and Great Britain signed the Munich Pact, which gave Germany the Sudetenland. British Prime Mini
Nonaggression Pact between Germany and U.S.S.R.
August 23, 1939 - Germany and Russia agreed not to attack each other, which allowed Hitler to open up a second front in the West without worrying about defending against Russia. Granted Western Poland to Germany, but allowed Russia to occupy Finland, Esto
Invasion of Poland, Blitzkrieg
September, 1939 - Germany used series of "lightning campaigns" to conquer Poland. The invasion caused Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany.
Axis Powers
A series of treaties in 1936 and 37 between Germany, Italy, and Japan created what was called the "Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis." The countries were thereafter referred to as the Axis Powers.
Cash and Carry" Revision of Neutrality
Stated the warring nations wishing to trade with the U.S. would have to pay cash and carry the goods away in their own ships. Benefitted the Allies, since German ships could not reach the U.S. due to the Allied blockades.
America First Committee
1940 - Formed by die-hard isolationists who feared the U.S. going to war.
Isolationism, Charles Lindbergh
Lindbergh, known for making the first solo flight across the Atlantic, became politically controversial because he was an isolationist and pro-Germany.
Tojo (Hideki)
Prime Minister of Japan (1941-1944) and leading advocate of Japanese military conquest during World War II.
Destroyer Deal
1940 - U.S. agreed to "lend" its older destroyers to Great Britain. (Destroyers were major warships that made up the bulk of most countries' navies.) Signaled the end of U.S. neutrality in the war.
Lend Lease
March 1941 - Authorized the president to transfer, lend, or lease any article of defense equipment to any government whose defense was deemed vital to the defense of the U.S. Allowed the U.S. to send supplies and ammunition to the Allies without technical
Atlantic Charter
August 1941 - Drawn up by FDR and Churchill with eight main principles Renunciation of territorial aggression; No territorial changes without the consent of the peoples concerned; Restoration of sovereign rights and self-government; Access to raw material
Pearl Harbor
7:50-10:00 AM, December 7, 1941 - Surprise attack by the Japanese on the main U.S. Pacific Fleet harbored in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii destroyed 18 U.S. ships and 200 aircraft. American losses were 3000, Japanese losses less than 100. In response, the U.S. dec
Japanese Relocation
The bombing of Pearl Harbor created widespread fear that the Japanese living in the U.S. were actually spies. FDR issued executive order 9066, which moved all Japanese and people of Japanese descent living on the west coast of the U.S. into internment cam
War Production Board
Converted factories from civilian to military production. Manufacturing output tripled.
War Labor Board
Acted as a supreme court for labor cases. Did more harm than good when it tried to limit wages, which led to strikes.
Office of Price Administration (OPA)
Government agency which successful combated inflation by fixing price ceilings on commodities and introducing rationing programs during World War II.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1870-1969)
Served as the supreme commander of the western Allied forces and became chief of staff in 1941. Sent to Great Britain in 1942 as the U.S. commander in Europe.
General Douglas MacArthur
Military governor of the Philippines, which Japan invaded a few days after the Pearl Harbor attack. MacArthur escaped to Australia in March 1942 and was appointed supreme commander of the Allied forces in the Pacific. Received the Medal of Honor.
Genocide, "Final Solution
Genocide is destruction of a racial group. Hitler's "Final Solution" was the genocide of non-Aryan peoples.
Second Front
The Russians were suffering heavy casualties fighting the German invasion of Russia. Stalin urged the Allies to open a "second front" in the west to relieve the pressure on the Russians. The Allies did so, but only after a long delay.