Download AAA: 1933, Agricultural Adjustment Act, stabilistation of farm prices

“Island-hopping”: US military tactic in the Pacific during the 2nd World War; aimed at
recapturing the islands occupied by the Japanese ona-by-ona and pushing the Japanese back to
their main islands.
“Lend-lease”: A program initiated in 1941 in which the President was autorized to provide
material assistance to countries which he deemed ifor the security of hte US; by the end of the
war the US gave assistance in the value of 47.9 million dollars to 38 different countries.
“Loose constructionism”: In opposition to the view of “strict constructionism”, Alexander
Hamilton developed the idea of “loose constructionism” suggesting that Congress should hve
the right to adopt certain measures if they are not expressly prohibited by the Constitution;
President Washington accepted that latter argument and the Bank of the US was set up in due
course.
“Midnight appointees”: also called “mignight judges”; President Adams, acting on the
authorization of the newly-passed Judiciary Act, which increased the number of federal
judges, appointed judges in February 1801 just before szepping down as President.
“Normalcy”: A term used first by Warren G. Harding in a campaign speech in 1920; he
meant return to the pre-war politics of government noninterference in private enterprise, a
policy more friendly to employees, and nationalistic foreign policy.
“Open door policy”: A principle proposed by US Secretary of State John Hay in 1899 and
1900; it meant that the US required equal commercial and industrial rights in China with the
European powers.
“Presidental Reconstruction”: Abraham Lincoln made his plan for reconstructing the South
public on 8 December 1863; it declared that a pardon would be extendedto tohse Southerns
who took an oath of loyalty and suggested that the state governments be recognized only
when 10 % of the 1860 electorate had taken the oath; his successor, Andrew Johnson
endorsed the plan.
“Quarantine speech”: Delivered by Frandlin D. Roosevelt on 5 October 1937 in Chicago;
urged the international quarantine of aggrassors.
“Remain neutral both in action and in thought”: At the outbreak of the 1st World War
President Wilson called on the Americans to remain “impartial in thought as well as in
action”, however, it became increasingly difficult to maintain complete neutrality.
“Robber barons”: A term osed by Matthew Josephson to characterize the ruthless and
unsrupulous capitalists of the late 19th century (John D. Rockefeller, Henry C. Frick); they
are also known as the “captains of industry”.
AAA: 1933, Agricultural Adjustment Act, stabilistation of farm prices, aimed at reducing
overproduction of farm corps and giving farmers a larger purchasing power, it was declared
unconstitutionally by the Supreme Court, in 1936. 2nd AAA: federal crop insurance and a
system of parity payments included.
Abraham Lincoln: President of the US (1861-1865); was previously a one-term
representative (1847-1849); joined the Republican Party in 1856 and was nominated President
by his party in 1860; when he took office in March 1861, the Confederate States had already
declared their independence; Lincoln believed that his paramount task should be savong the
Union; became an outstanding commander-in-chief and statesman in office; was shot by a
Southern sympathizer on 14 April 1865 and died the very next day.
Adams-Onis Treaty (1819): Under the treaty provisions, the US received East Florida from
Spain and settled the dispute concerning West Florida between the US and Spain.
Alexander Hamilton: A lawyer and a statesman; was a delegate to the Second Continental
Congress and the Annapolis Convention; was an ardent supporter of centralized government
and the thief contributor to the Federalist Papers; was the first Secretary of Treasury of the US
(1789-1795), then practiced law; in 1804 was killed in a duel by the then Vice President
Aaron Burr following a public debate between them.
American Revenue Act (Sugar Act of 1974): the act was aimed at stopping the wholesale
smuggling of molasses into North America by lowering the duty on this commodity.
Andrew Jackson: president 1829-1837 military hero of the Battle of New Orleans (against
the British). Cultivated the image of the men-in-the-street and promised to introduce more
democracy in all walks of life, including goverment; vigorously defended the Union, but
wished to decentralize power at the same time; symbolized the changing times in several
respects: 1. was the first President to be elected from the west (Tenessee) and 2. the first to
use veto power extensively.
Andrew Johnson: president 1865-1869; before the Civil War was a Congressman (18431853), governor of Tenessee (1853-1857) and a Senator (1857-1862); as a Vie President
succeeded Lincoln in 1865; because of his conservative views, clashed with the Radical
Republicans on a number of questions; when dismissed his Secretary of War, disregarding the
Tenure of Office Act, a movement was started in Congress to impeach him, but one vote was
missing form the necessary two-third majority in the Senate.
Articles of Confederation: the first written constitution of the US: it was approved by the
Congress on Nov 17, 1777 and it became law on Mar 1, 1781 when all the states ratified it.
Athlantic Charter: 1941, F. D. Roosevelt and W. Churchill, described an idealistic world after
the war: opposition to territorial changes against will of people. People can chose what form
of government they prefer, equal access to trade and raw materials of the world, freedom for
the seas, the four freedoms...
Atlantic Charter: was negotiated at the Atlantic Conference by British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, aboard warships in a secure
anchorage at Argentia, Newfoundland (located on Placentia Bay) and was issued as a joint
declaration on August 14, 1941.
Battle of Antietam: 17 September 1862: McLellan stops Lee’s advance in Maryland; one of
the turning points of the Civil War both militarily and diplomatically.
Battle of Gettysburg: (July 1–3, 1863), fought in and around the town of Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the bloodiest battle of the American
Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's turning point.
Battle of Manila Bay: 1 May 1898; the Americans under the leadership of George Dewey
defeated the Spanish Navy in Manila Bay; that was the end of the “splendid little war”
between the two nations.
Battle of the bulge: started in late December 1944 and was the last major German offensive
on the Western Front during World War II.
Bay of Pigs Invasion: was a United States-planned and funded landing by armed Cuban
exiles in southwest Cuba in an attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro in 1961
and marked the climax of anti-Cuban US actions. US-Cuban tensions had grown since Castro
had overthrown the US-backed regime of General Fulgencio Batista on January 1, 1959.
Bill of Rights: the name applied to the first then Amendments to the Constitution; however, it
is often used to include later amendmentsconcerning rights or liberties as well.
Black Panthers: An idea that black people should control political, economic, socila and
cultural institutions; intially, it means that the blacks shuold acquire political power in those
areas in the South where they constituted a majority.
Boston Massacre: On March 5, 1770 a crowd taunted and jeered a group of British soldiers,
who fired into the people, allegedly in self-defense. Anglo-British emotions flared up after the
incident in North American colonies.
Boston Tea Party: On December 16, 1773 a group of Bostonians dressed az Indians, boarded
some British ships loaded with tea and threw the shipments into the sea in protest against the
British government’s preferential treatment of the East India Company.
Brown v. Board of Education at Topeka, Kansas (1954): One of the most important
Supreme Court decisions in the history of the US was handed down in the Brown case, when
the Court reversed the decision of the Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) case, which made the
“separate but equal” principle legal; the Supreme Court’s decision in 1954 triggered the
desegregation of the educational institutions and gave a boost to the civil rights movement in
general.
Calvin Coolidge: President of the US 1923-1929, governor of Massachusetts in 1919-1920,
then becane VP and succeeded Warren G. Harding. Favoured laissez-faire policy toward
business and tax cuts during the 1920s. Typified the conservative Republican thought of the
age.
Carter Doctrine: The Carter Doctrine was a policy proclaimed by Jimmy Carter in his State
of the Union Address on 23 January 1980, which stated that the United States would use
military force if necessary to defend its national interests in the Persian Gulf region.
Cash-and-carry: 1939, US policy: any power could purchase arms and materials in the US, if
the could pa in cash and carry the goods away on their own ships, this in fact favoured the
British and the French.
Civil Rights Act of 1964: in the United States was landmark legislation outlawing
discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Originally conceived to
protect the rights of black men, the bill was amended to also protect the civil rights of women.
Civil Rights Act of 1968: The major provisions of the act prohibited discrimination on the
basis of race, religion or national origin in selling or renting houses; at the same time it
included civil rights protection, Indian rights and antiriot clauses.
Civil War (amendments containment): The American Civil War (1861–1865) was fought
in North America within the United States of America, between twenty-four mostly northern
states of the Union and the Confederate States of America, a coalition of eleven southern
states that declared their independence and claimed the right of secession from the Union in
1860–1861.
Civil Works Administration (CWA): Established in 1933 to provide employment on
federal, state and local made-work projects; altogether about 4 million people participated in
the program which was absorbed by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration in 1934.
Commodore Matthew C. Perry: Served in the US Navy for decades; became famous for
opening trade with Japan in 1854 (Treaty of Kanagawa).
Confederation: the period between the ratification of the Acticles of Condfederation (1781)
and the acceptance of the new Constitution (1788).
Connecticut Compromise: the reconciliation of the Virginia Pla, supported by the larger
states, and the New Jersey Plan, supported by the small states: it proposed bicameral
legisletion, in which one house should be provide equal representation to the states, while the
other should be a proportional one.
Containment: the principle suggested in George F. Kennan’s Long Telegram: post-war
rivalry with the Soviet Union.
Cotton Kingdom: During the American Civil War, Cotton diplomacy was the idea that
European powers required Confederate cotton to the point of extending diplomatic
recognition to the Confederacy. As Senator Hammond of South Carolina exclaimed, "Cotton
is King!" See King Cotton. However, the Confederate States of America significantly
overestimated the leverage that the cotton trade would give them with the United Kingdom.
Counterculture: during Vietnam war students alienated from the goverment propaganda
(e.g.: speeches in universities), the main ideas of counterculture movements were: antitheses
the mainstream American culture: communalism, sharing and harmony instead of careerism
and competitionm “symbols”: jeans, long hair, drugs, antiwar attitudes.
Crittenden Peace Resolution: Senator Crittenden proposed the Missouri compromise line to
be extended to the Pacific, and noninterference by Congress in slavery where it existed, the
proposal was rejected (Dec. 1860).
Cuban Missile Crisis: US intelligence discovered in Oct 1962 that the Soviets were
deploying nuclear missiles around San Christobal in Cuba, Kennedy demanded publicly that
the soviets withdrew, there were several days, when there was a great possibility of the
outbreak of a war, but then the Soviets withdrew.
D-Day: 6 June 1944. Allied troops landed in Normandy; the beginning of the Operation
Overload.
Dollar Diplomacy: policy of supporting US economic interest abroad and using economic
resources to achieve political goals (policies Theodore Roosevelt and W. H. Taft in the
Caribbean central America in the first decade of the 20th century were called so).
Dred Scott v. Sanford: 1857, DS a slave sued his master claiming that he became free when
taken to slavery prohibiting territory by his master, decision: 1. DS was not a citizen of
Missouri, not even of US, thus can’t sue his master, 2. slaves were properties and the
goverment has no right to prohibit owning a certain kind of property, thus Missouri
Compromise was unconstitutional, 3. the status of a property will not change if it is taken to
some other place.
Dwight Eisenhower: President of the US (1953-1961); during the 2nd World War served as
commander of the US forces in Europe from mid-1942, then as Supreme Commander of the
Allied Expeditionary Forces, directed the invasion of Europe in 1944; after Germany’s
surrender commanded the US occupation zone; was appointed chief of staff in 1945; became
president of Columbia Univerity in 1948; was the Supreme Commander of NATO in 19511952.
Eisenhower Doctrine: 1957, the president announced in an address to the Congress, that the
US would provide economic and military help to the Middle-East countries to stop soviet
expansion in the area.
Emancipation Proclamation: President Linclon issued the proclamation in 1863 (Jan): all
persons held as slaves in the rebellious territories would be free.
Four freedoms: F. D. Roosevelt in speech to the congress anounced that the world should be
created upon the principles of four human freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion,
freedom from want and freedom from fear.
Fourteen points: President Wilson spelt out the American peace terms in a speech delivered
to Congress on Jan 8, 1918. Became the legal basis for the treaty of peace; concerning the
freedom of the seas and the German reparation payment.
Gadsden purchase: 1853, final territorial settlement of US-Mexico, US received the presentday S-Arizona, and New Mexico, Mexico got 15 million dollars, and US assumes all claims
of its citizens against Mexico.
General Court: a New England bicameral legilature, which meant the meeting of the
governor and the assistants (the upper house) and the deputies, i.e. the propertied freemen
(lower house). It possessed legislative and judicial rights.
Geneva Accords (1954): Agreements intended to settle the first Indochina War (1946-1954);
its major provisions were as follows: 1. the division of Vietnam into two zones along the 17th
parallel, 2. general elections to be held in both zones and 3. no new foreign military personnel
or weaponswere to be introduced into eother zone.
Gilded Age: The term was used by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their Gilded
Age (1873), a satiric tale of the post-civil war boom and rampant speculative schemes to get
rich quick; the era was marked by widespread speculation and corruption, the overexpansion
of industry and currency inflation, both in business and political life; by extension, the term is
used to describe the decades between the Civil War and the turn of the century.
Great Society: A phrase used first by President Johnson in Ann Arbor, Michigan on 22 May,
1964 meaning his program to abolish poverty and to provide education and opportunities to
all.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: After the incident between the Maddox and North Vietnamese
patrol boats in the Tonkin Gulf, on 7 August, 1964 Congress authorized President Johnson “to
take all necessary measures to repeal any armed attack against the forces of the US and to
prevent further aggression”; the resolution was rapaeled on 13 January , 1971.
Hay-Herran Treaty: 1903, allowed US to construct a canal in Panama, if Columbia sold a
strip of land across the Isthmus (for 10 million dollars) and for an annual rent of 250 000
dollars after 9 years.
Henry Cabot Lodge: US Senator form Massachusetts (1893-1924); pursued a nationalistic
foreign policy and was instrumental in rejecting the Versailles Peace Treaty and the League of
Nations Covenant in the Senate after the 1st World War.
Henry Clay: John Quincy Adams’s Secretary of Stateafter the so-called “corrupt bargain”; in
the 1830s and 1840s was one of the most influential politicains in the Whig Party; was
nominated President three times, but was defeated each time.
Herber Hoover: President 1929-1933, believer of economic laissez-faire, intiated only
inadequate measures to alleviate the consequences of the Depression.
Housing Act of 1968: Civil Rights Act: prohibited discrimination on the basis of race,
religion or national origin in selling or renting houses. The act also included civil right
protections, Indian rights and antiriot clauses.
Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts): The British goverment passed a series of acts in reraliation
for the Boston Tea Party in spring 1774; they are commonly reffered as ~.
John Adams: The 2nd president of the US (1797-1801); previously was first to envoy to
Great Britain (1785-1788); his greatest achievement in office was arguably his successful
resistance to the Federalist Pary’s demand for declaring war on France.
John Fitzgerlad Kennedy: President of the US (1961-1963); was a Representative (19471953) and a Senator (1953-1961) before being elected President; advocated reforms at home
(New Frontier) in fields like education and civil rights, while abroad he “opened” toward
Latin America (Alliance for Porgress) and the Third World; was assassinated in Dallas,
Texas, on 22 Nov 1963.
John Foster Dulles: Secretary of State (1953-1959); criticized the containment policy as too
passive and advocated the “rollback of Communism” and the doctrine of “massive
retaliation”.
John Quincy Adams: Secretary of the State in Monroe’s administration (1817-1825); 6th
president of the US (1825-1829); in office he pursued the policy of extending federal power;
the program proved to be highly unpopular and he lost the next election to Andrew Jackson in
1828.
Joseph McCatrhy: US senator from Wisconsin 1908-1957. From the late 1940s on he
persued an extreme right-wing policy by carrying on a crusade against liberals and suspected
left-wing sympathizers.
Kitchen Cabinet: formed of the PM’s confidents, to whom the PM can turn for personal
advices.
Louisiana Purchase: 1803, the Louisiana territory (from Mississippi to Rocky mountains and
the Spanish possessions in the South-West) was bought from the French, originally they only
wanted to purchase the Isle of Orleans, where New Orleans stood, but were offered the whole
territory for 15 million dollars.
Lusitania case: 7 May 1915; the British ocean liner was torpedoed by a German submarine
off the coasts of Ireland; the Wilson administration demanded that Germany observe the
rights of the neutral countries on the high seas.
Lyndon B. Johnson: Pesrident 1963-1969. The most reform-minded president. Involved US
in the Vietnam War, and was almost chased out from the White House because of his policies
there.
Maine: An American Warship blew up in Havanna harbor with a loss of 260 people on 15
February 1898, investigetions concluded that an explosion from outside caused the tragedy;
the “yellow-press” in the US used the incident to whip up anti-Spanish fellings in the country.
Malcolm X: (1925–1965), born Malcolm Little, also known as Detroit Red, El-Hajji Malik
El-Shabazz and Omowale, was a longtime spokesman for the Nation of Islam. He was also
founder of the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity.
Marbury (one of Adam’s midnight judges) v. Madison (Secretary of State): 1803, the
Supreme Court affirmed the doctrine of judiciary review (the power of the Supreme Court to
review constitutionality of acts of Congress and the States).
March of Washington: when in August 1963 hundreds of thousands demonstrated
peacefully for racial equality.
Marshall Plan (1947): Officially the European Recovery Program; was announced by
Secretary of State George C. Marshall on 5 June 1947;the aim of the program was the
restoration of the European economy and thus the prevention of the leftist parties from getting
into power; during the existance of the program (1948-1952) some 12 billion dollars was
provided to the recipient countries in Western Europe.
Martin Luther King Jr.: A Baptist minister by profession; became the most famous black
civil rights leader in the 1950s and 1960s; advocated ratial harmony and peaceful means in the
blacks’ struggle to achieve equality; was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1964; was shot dead in
Memphis, Tenessee in 1968.
Massachusettes Bay Company: was formed by English Puritans in 1628, who receives
charter in 1629, arrived in Salmes in 1631 and eshtablished Boston the same year. The charter
was rescinded in 1684.
Massive retaliation: instead og the “mild” containment policy Dulles proposed the “rollback
of communism”, and more aggressive policy.
Mayflower Compact: a covenant made by 41 male, males on the board the Mayflower on 1
November 1920, in which the established a civil government on the settlement.
Mexican-American War: 1846, Pennsylvania introduced an amendment that slavery should
be prohibited in the territories secured from Mexico.
Missouri Compromise: 1820-1821, Missouri territory petitioned for statehood, but as it was
a slave-holding territory, and anti-slavery favouring states (in Senate), thus as a compromise
Maine was also admitted to the States, and slavery was prohibited north of 36°30`, parallel to
Louisiana territory... (the later was declared unconstitutional).
Monroe Doctrine (1823): President James Monroe in his message to Congress on 2
December 1823 spelled out the American standpoint regarding the relations of the powers of
Europe and the countries in the Americas; its major points are as follows: 1. American
continents were not to be subjects of future colonization by European powers, 2. a politican
systme existed in the Americas that was essentially different from that of Europe, 3. the US
would consider the extension of the European political system in the Western Hemisphere a
threat to its security and 4. the US would not interfere with the internal affairs of either of the
European nations or their existing colonies in America.
Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956): Part of civil rights movement; on 1 December 1955
Mrs. Rosa Parks, a black woman, refused to relinquish her seat on a bus in Montgomery,
Alabama; she was arrested for breaking the segregation laws of the state; the case triggered a
bus boycott by blacks, which lasted until the Supreme Court ruled that desegregation was
illegal on the buses; it was during this boycott that Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as a major
figure in civil rights movement.
Nation of Islam: Black Muslims, movement founded in Detroit, 1930, leader later: Elijah
Muhammed, denounced Christanity as a means of white supressions, advocated black ratial
superiority and black separatism.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP): The single
largest civil rights organization in the US; was founded in 1909; after the 2nd World War it
focused its attention on voting rights, housing and the desegregstion of public education.
National Security Act of 1947: signed July 26, 1947 by U.S. President Harry S. Truman
realigned and reorganized the United States' armed forces, foreign policy, and Intelligence
Community apparatus in the aftermath of World War II.
Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936 and 1937: The major purpose was to avoid being dragged into
the 2nd World War; the acts forbade the export of war material to countries waging as well as
extension of loans to belligerent countries, and stated the American citizens could travel by
ship belonging to belligerent countries exclusively at their own rosk.
New Immigration: A term from the late 1880s that came from the influx of immigrants from
southern and eastern Europe (areas that previously didn't have large numbers of immigrants)
into the United States. Some Americans feared that the New Immigrants would not assimilate
to life in their new land. This raised the issue of whether the U.S. was still a "melting pot."
NIRA: Natinal Industrial Recovery Act, 1933, part of (the “backbone of”) the New Deal,
codes of fair competition, right of collective bargaining guaratied, it included that codes
should establish minimum wages and maximal working hours, the act was considered
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Blue Eagle. The NIRA also helped create jobs for
unemployed workers.
Nixon Doctrine (1969): The principle that local forces should fight the Communists in
Southeast Asia, while the US would only provide economic and diplomatic support.
NOW: National Organization for Women: Was founded in 1966 to promote rights of women.
Oregon Treaty (1846): It closed the controversy between the US and Britain regarding the
northwestern boundary of the former; as a compromise line, the 49th parallel cut Oregon
Territory into an American and a Brisith half.
Pearl Harbor: 7 December 1941; the Japanese attack put an end to American “neutrality”;
the US entered the 2nd World War.
Pentagon Papers: a multivolume study on the Vietnam War commissioned by the Secretary
of Defense McNamara. Daniel Ellsberg & Anthony J. Russo copied the documents and passed
them to newspapers that published them until the government managed to stop them in 1971.
Platt Amendment: American-Cuban relation were determined on basis of it for 3 decades
after 1901, it stated the independence of Cuba, the island was not to conclude treaties that
would impair ist independence, US was to be allowed to intervene any time for the
preservation of independence of Cuba.
Plessy v. Fergusson: landmark Supreme Court decision in 1896, legislated separate but equal
treatment in connection with differentraces (Brown v. Board of education at Topeka, 1954;
seprarte treatment is unconstitutional).
Potsdam Conference: 17 July – 2 August 1945; the third meeting of the Big Three; the US
was represented by Harry S. Truman, Britain first by Winston Churchill, then by Clement
Atlee, and the Soviet Union jy Joseph Stalin; fiwed the terms of German occupation and
reparations and established the Council of Foreign Ministers; the US and Britain called for
Japan to surrender.
Proclamation of 1763: the measure, among other things, forbade the American settlers to
move beyond the Alleghanies, the “Proclamation Line” in an attempt to avoid clashes
between them and Native Americans.
Quota (Immigration) Acts of 1921 and 1924: The first act limits immigration in any year to
3% of the number of each nationality according to the Census of 1910, with maximum quota
of 357 000; the second act limits immigration in any year to 2% of the Census of 1890.
Red Scare: 1. fear of radical movements after the 1st World War, 2. same after the 2nd World
War, sweep out “spies”, House Committee on Un-American Activities, prosecution and
witch-hunt of communists.
Robert S. McNamara: Secretary of Defence (1961-1968); previously was the president of
the Ford Motor Company; after resigning from his cabinet post, he became president of the
World Bank.
Roosevelt Corrolary: A principle suggested by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904; it
provided for the right of the US to intervene in Latin Americaon behalf of European creditor
powers.
Sacco-Vanzetti case: 1920, two Italian anarchist were arrested for armed robbery, and
although counter-evidence existed the were executed in 1927, a manifestation of the Red
Scare.
SNCC: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was one of the primary institutions
of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.
Social Security: in the United States is a social insurance program funded through a
dedicated payroll tax.
Spanish-American War: took place in 1898, and resulted in the United States of America
gaining control over the former colonies of Spain in the Caribbean and Pacific.
Spoils system: In politics, a spoils system refers to an informal or formal practice by which
the party in power, perhaps after winning an election, monopolizes prerequisites and
government jobs with direct politically-motivated appointments. In the History of the United
States, the 'Spoils System' was the process of appointing officials to the government of the
United States of America based on political connections rather than on impersonal measures
of merit.
Stimson Doctrine: is a policy of the United States government, enunciated in a note of
January 7, 1932 to Japan and China, of non-recognition of international territorial changes
effected by force.
Teheran Big Three: The Teheran Conference was the meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D.
Roosevelt and Winston Churchill between November 28 and December 1, 1943 that took
place in Tehran, Iran. It was the first war conference among the three world powers in which
Stalin was present.
Tet Offensive (January 30, 1968–1969) was a series of operational offensives during the
Vietnam War, coordinated between battalion strength elements of the National Liberation
Front's People's Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF) or "Viet Cong" and divisional strength
elements of the North Vietnam's People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), against South Vietnam's
Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), and United States military and other ARVNallied forces.
The earliest use of these terms by the U.S. Army that the Center of Military History has been
able to find was during World War I.
Theodore Roosevelt: President of the US (1901-1909) advocated progressive reforms in the
country (wished to restrict the power of big corporations, regulate railroads, introduce reforms
in civil service and initiate large-scale programs for national conservation) pursued foreign
policy as well (supported the construction of the Panama Canal, spelled out the Roosevelt
Corrolary regarding South America and mediated in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905),
in 1912 split the Republican Party when became presidental candidate of the Progressive
Party.
Thomas Jefferson: The 3rd President of the US (1801-1809); as a member of the Continental
Congress, Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence, later was twice governor of
Virginia, represented the US in France (1785-1789) and served as the first Secretary of State
(1789-1793); envisioned an agrarian society based on individual liberties; as President,
endavoured to put an end to partisan struggles; doubled the territory of the country by
purchasing Louisiana Territory from the French in 1803 and successfully kept the US out of
Napoleonic Wars.
Truman Doctrine: was part of the U.S. political response to perceived aggression by the
Soviet Union in Europe and the Middle East, illustrated through the communist movements in
Iran, Turkey and Greece. Under the Truman Doctrine, the United States was prepared to send
any money, equipment or military force to countries which were threatened by the communist
government.
Vertical Integration: In microeconomics and strategic management, the term vertical
integration describes a style of ownership and control. Vertically integrated companies are
united through a hierarchy and share a common owner.
Wagner Act of 1968: The National Labor Relations Act (or Wagner Act) is a 1935 United
States federal law that protects the rights of most workers in the private sector to organize
labor unions, to engage in collective bargaining, and to take part in strikes and other forms of
concerted activity in support of their demands.
Watergate Scandal: (1972–1974) was an American political scandal and constitutional crisis
that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. The scandal came in the political
context of the ongoing Vietnam War, which had since Lyndon Johnson's presidency grown
increasingly unpopular with the American public. Though Nixon had endured two years of
mounting political embarrassments, the court-ordered release of the "smoking gun tape" in
August 1974 brought with it the prospect of certain impeachment for Nixon, and he resigned
only days later on August 9.
Whigs: The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian
democracy. It was integral to the Second Party System and operated from 1832 to 1856 and
was formed to oppose the policies of President Andrew Jackson and the Democratic Party he
had founded.
Wilmot Proviso: first suggested in 1846 and attached to many bills but never passed, would
have outlawed slavery in any U.S. territory gained from the Mexican Cession following the
recently begun Mexican-American War.
XYZ Affair: is a diplomatic scandal that lasted from March of 1797 to 1800. Three French
agents, originally only publicly referred to as X, Y, and Z, but later revealed as Jean Conrad
Hottinguer, Pierre Bellamy and Lucien Hauteval, demanded enormous concessions from the
United States as a condition for continuing bilateral peace negotiations.
Yalta: The Yalta Conference, was the wartime meeting from February 4 to 11, 1945 between
the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. The
delegations were headed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin
respectively.
Zimmermann Telegram was an coded telegram dispatched by the Foreign Secretary of the
German Empire, Arthur Zimmermann, on January 16, 1917, to the German ambassador in
Mexico, Heinrich von Eckardt, at the height of World War I. It instructed the ambassador to
approach the Mexican government with a proposal to form an alliance against the United
States. It was intercepted and decoded by the British and its contents hastened the entry of the
United States into World War I.