Period 7: Glossary (College Board AP® US History): Revision Note

Themes in Period 7

• Politics and Power (PCE)

• Social Structures (SOC)

• Migration and settlement (MIG)

• Work, Exchange and Technology (WXT)

• American and Regional Culture (ARC)

• America in the World (WOR)

Contextualising Period 7

Global power – The U.S. expanded its role in world affairs during this period

Reform and crisis – This period included Progressivism, the Depression, and the two World Wars

Imperialism: Debates

Imperialism – The U.S. sought overseas influence and territory

Expansion debate – Some people supported the empire for power and trade; other people opposed it on moral and political grounds

The Spanish–American War

Spanish-American War – A short war that increased U.S. influence overseas

Annexation – The U.S. gained territories, including Puerto Rico and the Philippines

The Progressives

Progressivism – A movement to address corruption, inequality, and social problems

Muckrakers – Journalists who exposed problems and corruption in business and politics

Trust-busting – Government efforts to break up monopolies

Direct democracy reforms – Reforms such as initiative, referendum, and recall expanded voter power

19th Amendment – Women gained the right to vote nationally

World War I: Military and Diplomacy

Neutrality – At first, the U.S. stayed out of World War I

Selective Service – The Selective Service Act allowed the U.S. government to draft (conscript) men into the army

Fourteen Points – Wilson’s plan for peace after the war

World War I: Home Front

War mobilization – The government directed the production of military supplies and promoted support for the war

Migration – War jobs encouraged movement within the U.S

Civil liberties tension – Dissent faced limits during wartime. Laws restricted free speech

1920s: Innovations in Communication and Technology

Mass media – Technologies used to transmit information, news and entertainment to large audiences over a wide area. Radio and film helped create a shared national culture

Automobiles - Cars changed transportation, industry, and daily life, including where people lived

Consumer economy – Credit and advertising increased people's spending

1920s: Cultural and Political Controversies

Harlem Renaissance – A flowering of Black art, writing, and culture

Nativism – Fear of immigrants and cultural change grew, leading to an increase in some people's beliefs that the interests of U.S.-born citizens should be prioritised

Modernism vs. traditionalism – Americans debated religion, science, and values

The Great Depression

Stock market crash – A symbol of economic collapse in 1929, when billions of dollars of investments were lost

Unemployment – Millions of people lost jobs during the Depression

Bank failures – Banks collapsed because the loans they had made could not be repaid. This deepened the crisis

The New Deal

Relief – Immediate help for people in need

Recovery – Efforts to restart the economy

Reform – Long-term changes to reduce future crises

Social Security – Federal old-age pensions and support programs for people with disabilities and the unemployed

Interwar Foreign Policy

Isolationism – The policy of avoiding involvement in the political, economic or military affairs of other nations. Many Americans wanted to avoid foreign wars

Neutrality Acts – Laws aimed at keeping the U.S. out of conflict

World War II: Mobilization

Arsenal of democracy – The U.S. became a major producer of war supplies

Pearl Harbor – The attack by Japanese forces that led the United States to enter WWII

Home front – Women and people from minority groups took on new wartime roles

Internment – Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated and detained

World War II: Military

Allied victory – The U.S. played a major role in defeating the Axis powers

D-Day – Major Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe

Atomic bomb – The war in the Pacific ended after the U.S. use of nuclear weapons in Japan

Postwar Diplomacy

United Nations – an international organization formed after the war

Superpower status – World War II left the U.S. as a leading global power