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Herbert Hoover
Served as US Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Harding, then became president a few months before the start of the Great Depression in 1929. -
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FDR
Was Assistant Secretary of the Navy until 1920, then became governor of New York until 1932. Then served as president for two terms after Hoover in 1933 during the Great Depression. Helped America through the Depression with things like a New Deal Coalition and Social Security. -
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Timespan
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Eisenhower
President of the US 1953-1961. Established "massive retaliation". -
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Spanish-American War
Cubans rebelled against Spanish rule and the US went to war with spain because of business and strategic interests in Cuba, yellow journalists sensationalizing Spanish brutality in Cuba, the de Lome Letter, and the explosion of the USS Maine. The US defeated the Spanish, the Treaty of Paris and the Platt Amendment were signed, and the Filipino rebellion against the US was put down. -
Treaty of Paris (1898)
The treaty ending the Spanish-American War, in which Spain freed Cuba, turned over the islands of Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States, and sold the Philippines to the United States for $20 million. -
Open Door Policy
Issued by Secretary of State John Hay, sometime in 1899. Gave all nations equal trading rights in China and called for fair competition. The goal of this policy was to end US/European competition. It also urged foreigners to obey Chinese law. -
Boxer Rebellion
A 1900 rebellion in which members of a Chinese secret society sought to free their country from Western influence. -
Platt Amendment
A series of provisions that, in 1901, the United States insisted Cuba add to its new constitution, commanding Cuba to stay out of debt and giving the United States the right to intervene in the country and the right to buy or lease Cuban land for naval and fuelling stations. -
Roosevelt Corollary
An extension of the Monroe Doctrine, announced by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904, under which the United States claimed the right to protect its economic interests by means of military intervention in the affairs of Western Hemisphere nations. -
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WWI
Global war between Allies and Central Powers. Started with the assissination of Arch Duke Ferdinand. Ended with a victory for the Allies. -
Panama Canal
An artificial waterway cut through the Isthmus of Panama to provide a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, opened in 1914. -
US enters WWI
The US enters WWI because of German submarine warfare e.g. the sinking of Lusatania, as well as the Zimmermann Telegram which suggested German/Mexican alliance against the US. They also joined to support Great Britain with whom they had close ties. -
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JFK
Served as president of the US 1961-1963. First and last Roman Catholic as president in the US. Helped America thorugh part of the Cold War. -
14 Points
Woodrow Wilson's post WWI peace plan; goal of the plan was to eliminate the causes of war. -
18th Amendment
Amendment made during the Prohibition (1921-1933) that banned the use of alcohol. -
Treaty of Versailles
The 1919 peace treaty at the end of World War I which established new nations, borders, and war reparations. -
Scopes Trial
A sensational 1925 court case in which the biology teacher John T. Scopes was tried for challenging a Tennessee law that outlawed the teaching of evolution. -
Black Tuesday
A name given to October 29, 1929, when stock prices fell sharply. -
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Great Depression
A period, lasting from 1929 to 1940, in which the US economy was in severe decline and millions of Americans were unemployed. -
Dust Bowl
The region, including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico, that was made worthless for farming by drought and dust storms during the 1930s. -
New Deal Coalition
An alliance of diverse groups - including Southern whites, African Americans, and unionized workers - who supported the policies of the Democratic Party in the 1930s and 1940s. -
FDIC
An agency created in 1933 to insure individuals' bank accounts, protecting people against losses due to bank failures. -
Wagner Act
Act signed under FDR's presidency that protected workers rights to form unions and engage in collective bargaining. -
Social Security Act
A law enacted in 1935 to provide aid to retirees, the unemployed, people with disabilities, and families with dependent children. -
Congress Industrial Organizations (CIO)
A labor organization composed of industrial unions founded in 1938, it merged with the AFL in 1955. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
Act signed during FDR's presidency that set maximum work hours and minimum wages. -
Non-Aggression Pact
Stalin and Hitler agreed not to attack each other during WWII. -
War in Europe Begins
Germany invades Poland which cause France and Britain to declare war on Germany. -
Selective Service Act
Drafted 10 million men into the US military during WWII. -
Germany Invades Russia
Germany breaks the rules of the Non-Aggression Pact in mid-1941 and invades Russia. -
Pearl Harbor
Japan surprise attacks Pearl Harbor, Hawaii targeting US naval base. -
US Declares War
At FDR's request, US congress joins WWII after Japan's attack at Pearl Harbor. -
Miracle of Midway
US navy beat a much larger Japanese force at Midway Island which ended the threat to Hawaii. -
D-Day
Allies landed in Germany-occupied France lead by Eisenhower during WWII and were successful, then began the liberation of Western Europe. -
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Battle of the Bulge
German counteroffensive to D-Day. Allies soon recovered and the Germans were unsuccessful. -
Korematsu vs. US
Supreme Court case over the internment of Japanese citizens in the US during WWII. -
V-E Day
Allies from the West and Soviet Union from the East overran Germany. Germany surrendered. -
Hiroshima & Nagasaki A-Bombs
Two Japanese cities that Truman used atomic bombs against in order to get Japan to surrender during WWII. -
Nuremburg Trials
Post WWII trials of Nazis of wart crimes in the Holocaust; emphasized individual responsibilty regardless of order. -
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Cold War
The state of hostility, without direct military conflict, that developed between the US and the Soviet Union after WWII. -
Marshall Plan
Massive US financial aid package to rebuild Europe's economy. -
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Berlin Airlift
The Soviets blockaded West Berlin so the US flew in supplies. -
NATO
A defensive military alliance formed in 1949 by 10 western european countries, the US, and Canada. -
Communist Takeover of China
Mao Zedong took over China and made it communist. Caused China and the Soviets to become rivals for territory and influence. -
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Korean War
Communist North Korea against Democratic South Korea. South was supported by the US and North was supported by USSR. Ended in stalemate. -
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Found guilty of giving atomic secrets to the Soviets; electrocuted in 1953. -
Warsaw Pact
An alliance among Soviet Union and East European countries. -
Sputnik
First ship launched into space by the Soviets. -
U2 Incident
Francis Gary Powers was shot down while spying over the Soviet Union. -
Division of Germany
Germany was split into communist East Germany and capitalist West Germany. -
Berlin Wall
Wall erected to separate East and West Berlin. -
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Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviets stationed nuclear missiles in Cuba. JFK demanded their remolval and blackaded Cuba. -
JFK Assassination
JFK was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, TX, 1963. Shook America's confidence.
