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Culture
A New Literary History of AmericaA New Literary History of America contains essays on topics from the first conception of a New World in the sixteenth century to the latest re-envisioning of that world in cartoons, television, science fiction, and hip hop. Literature, music, film, art, history, science, philosophy, political rhetoriccultural creations of every kind appear in relation to each other, and to the time and place that give them shape. Also contains an introduction and index.
Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850In analytical articles, this work explores the developments that influenced the profound changes in thought and sensibility during the second half of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century.
Icons of American Popular Culture: From P.T. Barnum to Jennifer LopezThis appealing book fills in another dimension by tracing the evolution of American popular culture over the past two centuries. In a lengthy chronology of landmark events, this title provides an intriguing window on the social, economic, and political history of our democracy from the antebellum period to the present.
Warfare
Ships of the World by Lincoln Paxton PaineCovers the world's best known and most significant vessels of every size and type. Each ship is described in a vivid short essay that captures its personality as well as its physical characteristics, construction, and history, from the drawing board to the scrap yard or museum.
Civil War
Jews and the Civil War: A ReaderIn Jews and the Civil War, essays from top scholars are grouped into seven sections—Jews and Slavery, Jews and Abolition, Rabbis and the March to War, Jewish Soldiers during the Civil War, The Home Front, Jews as a Class, and Aftermath-each with an introduction by the editors. It covers the impact of the war on Jews (both soldiers and civilians) in the North and the South and includes resources for further reading.
Colonial America
Encyclopedia of North American IndiansWritten by contemporary authorities, the volume features many Native American contributors - including eminent writers, tribal elders, scholars, and activists - with voices as distinct as their subjects, offering a deeper and more informed appreciation of American Indian life, past and present
Ships of the World by Lincoln Paxton PaineCovers the world's best known and most significant vessels of every size and type. Each ship is described in a vivid short essay that captures its personality as well as its physical characteristics, construction, and history, from the drawing board to the scrap yard or museum.
General
The Great American History Fact-FinderCovers a wide spectrum of American history and culture, including political events, military history, sports, arts, entertainment, landmark legislation, and business. The book's concise entries, arranged from A to Z, bring the United States' past into sharp focus while also offering just plain useful facts about the well known and not so well known
Encyclopedia of American StudiesBrings together a wide range of disciplines related to the history and cultures of the United States, from pre-colonial days to the present.
Keywords for American Cultural StudiesEntries in this volume synthesize a great deal of information about the historical and contemporary meanings of many of the central terms that structure the fields of American studies and cultural studies; they provide contexts for the usage of those terms by discussing how their meanings have developed over time; and they may even unlock a few mysteries and break a few codes.
African American History
Black FirstsTells stories of barrier-breaking pioneers in all fields-arts, entertainment, business, civil rights, education, government, inventing, journalism, religion, science, sports, and more.
Encyclopedia of Emancipation and Abolition in the Transatlantic WorldExamines every effort to end slavery in the United States and the transatlantic world. It focuses on massive, broad-based movements, as well as specific incidents, events, and developments, and pulls together in one place information previously available only in a wide variety of sources.
Biographies
Notable American Women: 1607-1950Covers the lives of exceptional women throughout three and a half centuries of American history, including artists, lawyers, reformers, educators, entrepreneurs, physicists, writers, pioneers, presidents' ladies, film stars.
Notable American Women: Completing the Twentieth CenturyThe publication of the first volumes of Notable American Women in 1971 was a watershed event in women's history. By uncovering and documenting the enormous contributions that women had made - previously overlooked or underappreciated - this important reference work changed the way historians thought and wrote about American history.
Notable American Women: The Modern PeriodThe life stories of American women who have in some way affected contemporary American life are explored in this lauded companion to Notable American Women, 1607-1950.
Law and Politics
American Presidents Ranked by Performance, 1789-2012This title evaluates each president on his effectiveness in each area and a final analysis is provided for the scores combined. The most overrated and underrated chief executives are identified., with each entry including a biographical and political information, as well as an analysis of their overall behavior and status.
American Constitutional Law: The Structure of GovernmentAmerican Constitutional Law provides a comprehensive account of the nations defining document. Based on the premise that the study of the Constitution and constitutional law is of fundamental importance to understanding the principles, prospects, and problems of America, this text puts current events in terms of what those who initially drafted and ratified the Constitution sought to accomplish.
Pre-Columbian and Colonial Period
Notable Figures
Christopher Columbus (1451 - 1506): Topic PageItalian explorer in the service of Spain who determined that the earth was round and attempted to reach Asia by sailing west from Europe, thereby reaching America (1492)
Native Americans: LibGuideThe original inhabitants of the American continent, who arrived during the last glacial period (according to some estimates, 14–40 000 years ago, but the issue is controversial) from Asia, crossing from Siberia over the Bering Strait, perhaps in three waves.
Pilgrims: Topic PageThe Pilgrims were English settlers, members of a Separatist sect, who emigrated to New England in 1620 in search of the opportunity to practice their religion without persecution.
John Rolfe (1585-1622): Topic PageJohn Rolfe was responsible for the development of a cash crop in the Virginia colony; he cross-pollinated tobacco plants to create a mild blend highly desired in Europe.
John Smith (1580-1631): Topic PageJohn Smith was a central figure in establishing Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English colony in North America. His greatest influence, however, was as a writer of promotional literature about colonization and a wildly adventurous, albeit bewildering, autobiography.
Pocahontas (d. 1617): Topic PageDaughter of Wahunsonacook, headman of the Algonquian-speaking Powhatan Confederacy of Tidewater Virginia; mythologized in American literature as an Indian princess and epitomized in Vachel Lindsay’s poem Our Mother Pocahontas as “the mother of us all.”
Roger Williams (1603-1683): Topic PageOne of America’s earliest cultural pluralists and advocates of the separation of church and state, Roger Williams founded Providence, Rhode Island, as a safe haven for early European settlers who had suffered religious persecution. He also believed in forging good relations with the Native peoples of New England.
John Winthrop (1588-1649): Topic PageGovernor of the Massachusetts Bay colony, b. Edwardstone, near Groton, Suffolk, England. Of a landowning family, he studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, came into a family fortune, and became a government administrator with strong Puritan leanings.
William Bradford (1590-1657): Topic PageGovernor of Plymouth Colony, b. Austerfield, Yorkshire, England. As a young man he joined the separatist congregation at Scrooby and in 1609 emigrated with others to Holland, where, at Leiden, he acquired a wide acquaintance with theological literature.
Events
Thirteen Colonies: Topic PageOriginal North American colonies that signed the Declaration of Independence from Britain in 1776.
French and Indian War: Topic PageBegun as colonial muscling for control of the Ohio River valley, the French and Indian War (1754-1760) ignited the worldwide conflict between the British and French known as the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) and ended France’s North American empire.
Plymouth Colony: Topic PageSettlement made by the Pilgrims on the coast of Massachusetts in 1620.
New England Confederation: Topic PageUnion for "mutual safety and welfare" formed in 1643 by representatives of the colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven.
Mississippi Scheme: Topic PagePlan formulated by John Law for the colonization and commercial exploitation of the Mississippi valley and other French colonial areas.
Salem Witch Trials: Topic PageIn the summer of 1692 all of eastern Massachusetts trembled in fear as neighbors and kinfolk accused one another of practicing witchcraft. Hundreds were jailed, and in the first round of the ensuing trials from June 2 to September 21, 1692—the most extensive mass trials of suspected criminals in the colonial period of American history—all of the defendants were convicted.
Movements, Issues, and Systems
Colonization: Topic PageExtension of political and economic control over an area by a state whose nationals have occupied the area and usually possess organizational or technological superiority over the native population.
Imperialism: Topic PageThe extension of rule or influence by one government, nation, or society over another.
Mercantilism: Topic PageEconomic system of the major trading nations during the 16th, 17th, and 18th cent., based on the premise that national wealth and power were best served by increasing exports and collecting precious metals in return.
Slavery: Topic PageSlavery has been found among many groups of low material culture, as in the Malay Peninsula and among some Native Americans; it also has occurred in more highly developed societies, such as the southern United States.
Indentured Servants: Topic PageIndentured servitude was an arrangement sealed by a contract between emigrants and merchants for temporary labor in exchange for the cost of passage and maintenance to British settlements in the Americas.
Mayflower Compact (1620): Topic PageThe Mayflower Compact was an agreement between the separatist Pilgrims emigrating from England, setting out the guidelines for the envisaged government of their settlement in the New World.
Massachusetts Bay Company: Topic PageEnglish chartered company that established the Massachusetts Bay colony in New England. Organized (1628) as the New England Company, it took over the Dorchester Company, which had established a short-lived fishing colony on Cape Ann in 1623.
18th Century
Movements, Issues, and Systems
Abolitionism: Topic PageA movement culminating in the late 18th and early 19th centuries that aimed first to end the slave trade, and then to abolish the institution of slavery and emancipate slaves.
Slavery: Topic PageSlavery has been found among many groups of low material culture, as in the Malay Peninsula and among some Native Americans; it also has occurred in more highly developed societies, such as the southern United States.
Underground Railroad: Topic PageLoosely organized system for helping fugitive slaves escape to Canada or to areas of safety in free states. It was run by local groups of Northern abolitionists, both white and free blacks.
American Revolution
Causes
Taxation: Topic PageRaising of money from individuals and organizations by the state in order to pay for the goods and services it provides.
Stamp Act: Topic Page
Revenue law passed by the British Parliament during the ministry of George Grenville.
Townshend ActsFrom The Reader's Companion to American History
The Townshend Acts were a series of measures introduced
into Parliament by Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend in 1767.
Tyranny: Topic PageA form of dictatorial, one-person government characterized by injustice and lack of respect for the rights of individual citizens.
Notable Results
Declaration of Independence: Topic PageFull and formal declaration adopted July 4, 1776, by representatives of the Thirteen Colonies in North America announcing the separation of those colonies from Great Britain and making them into the United States.
Battles and Events
Boston Massacre: Topic PageA riot on 5 March 1770, arising from the resentment of Boston citizens against British troops quartered in the city.
Boston Tea Party: Topic PageAmerican patriots, disguised as Mohawks, dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773, in protest against the British Tea Act.
Battle of Trenton: Topic PageThe battles in and around New York City in the summer and fall of 1776 had gone badly for the American revolutionaries. The British had taken the city and established posts across from New York in New Jersey and up the Hudson River. Meanwhile, General George Washington knew that the enlistments of many of his few remaining troops would end on December 31, 1776. He needed a victory both to support the patriot cause and to maintain his army.
Battle of Yorktown: Topic PageOn October 6, 1781, the British, French, and American armies converged around Yorktown, Virginia, for what would be the final and decisive battle of the American War of Independence.
People
Loyalists: Topic PageLoyalists in the American War of Independence were those colonists who, by some public or covert actions, demonstrated their continued allegiance to Great Britain and opposition to government by the revolutionary authorities.
Continental Congress: Topic Page1774-89, federal legislature of the Thirteen Colonies and later of the United States in the American Revolution and under the Articles of Confederation (see Confederation, Articles of).
19th Century
Notable Figures
Buffalo Bill (1846 - 1917): Topic PageAmerican plainsman, scout, and showman; In 1883 he organized Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and toured with it for many years throughout the United States and Europe.
Events
Second Great Awakening: Topic PageUS religious evangelical revivalist movement, lasting from about 1800 to 1870
Transcontinental Railroad: Topic PageThe largest civil engineering project in western history to that date, the railroad was over 4,800 km/3,000 mi long and crossed deserts, canyons, and mountains, requiring the development of new construction techniques.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act: Topic PageBill that became law on May 30, 1854, by which the U.S. Congress established the territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
Trail of Tears: Topic Page
Forced march of Indian tribes from the eastern United States to Oklahoma.
Plains Wars: Topic PageSeries of conflicts between the Plains Indians and the US Army 1850-90, during the era of US westward expansion.
Sand Creek Massacre: Topic PageSlaughter of 450 Cheyenne and Arapaho by the 3rd Colorado Volunteers under Col John Chivington, during an unprovoked attack on Cheyenne peace chief Black Kettle's camp at Sand Creek, Colorado, on 29 November 1864.
Battle of Little Big Horn: Topic PageThe Battle of the Little Bighorn took place on 25 June 1876. It resulted in the death of about 265 officers and troops of the 7th Cavalry under the command of General George Armstrong Custer. The battle was the most serious defeat of the US army during the war for the Great Plains.
Oregon Trail: Topic PageMajor westward migration route in the USA used by pioneer settlers in the 19th century.
American Civil War: Topic PageSometimes called ‘the War Between the States’ or ‘the Second American Revolution’, a conflict in the USA which resolved two great issues: the nature of the Federal Union and the relative power of the states and the central government; and the existence of black slavery.
War of 1812: Topic Page![]()
Armed conflict between the United States and Great Britain, 1812–15.
California Gold Rush: Topic PageThe influx of prospectors to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, following the discovery of gold in the American River by US surveyor James Marshall in January 1848.
McCulloch v. Maryland: Topic PageCase decided in 1819 by the U.S. Supreme Court, dealing specifically with the constitutionality of a Congress-chartered corporation, and more generally with the dispersion of power between state and federal governments.
Lincoln-Douglas Debates: Topic PageA series of seven debates between the Democrat senator Stephen A Douglas and Republican Abraham Lincoln held August-October during the 1858 race for Illinois State senator.
Movements, Issues, and Systems
Manifest Destiny: Topic PageIn US history, the belief that Americans had a providential mission to extend both their territory and their democratic processes westwards across the continent.
Abolitionism: Topic PageA movement culminating in the late 18th and early 19th centuries that aimed first to end the slave trade, and then to abolish the institution of slavery and emancipate slaves.
Jim Crow Laws: Topic PageLegislation passed by southern US states in the late 19th century to enforce racial segregation.
Women's Suffrage: Topic PageThe right of women to vote; Throughout the latter part of the 19th cent. the issue of women's voting rights was an important phase of feminism.
American Civil War
Notable People
African-Americans: Topic PageAmericans descended from African forebears, usually those enslaved and brought to the USA before the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.
Clara Barton (1821 - 1912): Topic PageThough best known for founding and leading the American Red Cross in the late nineteenth century, Clara Barton contributed all of her energies to helping the Union soldiers during the Civil War—from the arrival of the first soldiers in Washington, DC, in April 1861, through the war's aftermath and the grim task of identifying the unknown war dead.
Jefferson Davis (1808 - 1889): Topic Page
American statesman, President of the Southern Confederacy.
W.E.B. Du Bois (c.1868 - 1963): Topic PageWilliam Edward Burghardt Du Bois was a visionary, strategic organizer, and prolific writer who tirelessly advocated, and often agitated, for racial, economic, and gender equality as well as peace with social justice.
John Rockefeller (1839 - 1937): Topic PageUS millionaire industrialist and philanthropist; He was the founder of Standard Oil in 1870, from which were descended four of the world's largest oil companies - Amoco, Chevron, Exxon, and Mobil.
William Tecumseh Sherman (1820 - 1891): Topic Page
1820–91, Union general in the American Civil War; Sherman is said by many to be the greatest of the Civil War generals.
Sojourner Truth (c.1797 - c.1883): Topic PageUS antislavery and women's-suffrage campaigner; A former slave, she ran away and became involved with religious groups.
Harriet Tubman (1821 - 1913): Topic PageUS abolitionist; Born a slave in Maryland, she escaped to Philadelphia (where slavery was outlawed) in 1849. She helped set up the Underground Railroad.
Places of the Civil War
Andersonville PrisonFrom Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History
Between February 1864 and May 1865, 45,613 United States prisoners were held at Andersonville, and nearly 13,000 men died there.
Fort Sumter: Topic PageFortification, built 1829–60, on a shoal at the entrance to the harbor of Charleston, S.C., and named for Gen. Thomas Sumter; scene of the opening engagement of the Civil War.
Georgia: Topic PageA state on the SE coast of the USA. A supporter of the Confederate cause in the US Civil War, it suffered considerable damage during Gen Sherman's March to the Sea (1864).
Confederacy: Topic PageName commonly given to the Confederate States of America (1861-65), the government established by the Southern states of the United States after their secession from the Union.
Richmond (VA): Topic PageCapital and seaport of Virginia, on the James River, 336 km/209 mi from its mouth on the Atlantic, 160 km/100 mi south of Washington, DC; population (2000 est) 197,800. It is a major tobacco market and a distribution, commercial, and financial center for the surrounding region.
Battles and Events
Atlanta Campaign: Topic PageImportant series of battles in the American Civil War in Georgia (May-September 1864).
Bull Run: Topic PageThe first battle of Bull Run (or first battle of Manassas) was the first major engagement of the Civil War.
First Battle of Bull Run (1861): Topic PageManassas Junction, Virginia, was the magnet that attracted the armies of North and South to the banks of Bull Run in July 1861. There two railroads, the Manassas Gap and the Orange & Alexandria, connected thirty miles southwest of Washington, D.C.
Second Battle of Bull Run (1862): Topic PageFollowing the end of the Peninsula campaign, General Robert E. Lee sent Stonewall Jackson north with 24,000 men to watch the new Federal Army of Virginia, led by Major General John Pope.
Draft Riots: Topic PageThe Union Conscription Act of Mar. 3, 1863, provided that all able-bodied males between the ages of 20 and 45 were liable to military service.
Battle of Gettysburg: Topic PageSite of one of the decisive battles of the American Civil War: a Confederate defeat by Union forces 1-3 July 1863.
Wilderness Campaign: Topic PageIn the American Civil War, a series of engagements (May–June, 1864) fought in the Wilderness region of Virginia. Early in May, 1864, the Northern commander in chief, Grant, led the Army of the Potomac (118,000 strong) across the Rapidan River into the Wilderness, a wild and tangled woodland c.10 mi (16 km) W of Fredericksburg.
Seven Days' Battle: Topic PageDuring the American Civil War, successful Confederate campaign June-July 1862 to drive back Union forces threatening Richmond, Virginia.
Trent Affair: Topic PageIncident in the diplomatic relations between the United States and Great Britain, which occurred during the American Civil War.
Other Relevant Topics
Dred Scott Case: Topic PageArgued before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1856–57; It involved the then bitterly contested issue of the status of slavery in the federal territories.
Dred Scott Decision: Topic PageUS Supreme Court decision of 1857 which denied ‘blacks’ (African Americans) US citizenship and made slavery legal in all US territories.
Gettysburg Address: Topic PageSpeech delivered by Abraham Lincoln on Nov. 19, 1863, at the dedication of the national cemetery on the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg, Pa.; It is one of the most famous and most quoted of modern speeches.
The Ku Klux Klan: Topic Page![]()
The first Ku Klux Klan was an organization that thrived in the South during the Reconstruction period following the Civil War.
Reconstruction: Topic Page1865–77, in U.S. history, the period of readjustment following the Civil War.
Yankee: Topic PageTerm used by Americans generally in reference to a native of New England and by non-Americans, especially the British, in reference to an American of any section.
20th Century
Events
Brown v. Board of Education: Topic PageCase decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954; Linda Brown was denied admission to her local elementary school in Topeka because she was black.
Cold War: Topic PageIdeological, political, and economic tensions from 1945 to 1989 between the USSR and Eastern Europe on the one hand and the USA and Western Europe on the other.
Gulf War: Topic PageWar 16 January-28 February 1991 between Iraq and a coalition of 28 nations led by the USA; The invasion and annexation of Kuwait by Iraq on 2 August 1990 provoked a build-up of US troops in Saudi Arabia, eventually totalling over 500,000.
Korean War: Topic PageWar from 1950 to 1953 between North Korea (supported by China) and South Korea, aided by the United Nations (the troops were mainly US).
Roe v. Wade: Topic PageCase decided in 1973 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Along with Doe v. Bolton, this decision legalized abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI): Topic PageA research programme, originally managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center, aimed at using large radio telescopes to detect artificially generated radio signals coming from interstellar space.
Teapot Dome: Topic PageOil reserve scandal that began during the administration of President Harding.
The Great Depression: Topic PageThe severe economic crisis supposedly precipitated by the U.S. stock-market crash of 1929; Although it shared the basic characteristics of other such crises (see depression), the Great Depression was unprecedented in its length and in the wholesale poverty and tragedy it inflicted on society.
Vietnam War Protests: Topic PageDemonstrations, marches, and acts of civil disobedience in protest to US involvement in the Vietnam War (1954-75), beginning around 1965.
Vietnam War: Topic PageWar from 1954 to 1975 between communist North Vietnam and US-backed South Vietnam, in which North Vietnam aimed to conquer South Vietnam and unite the country as a communist state. North Vietnam was supported by communist rebels from South Vietnam, the Vietcong.
Wall Street CrashThe New York Stock Exchange in 1929, where panic-selling of shares after a prolonged period of speculation brought about a worldwide economic crisis.
World War I: Topic Page
War between the Central European Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and allies) on one side and the Triple Entente (Britain and the British Empire, France, and Russia) and their allies, including the USA (which entered in 1917), on the other side.
World War II: Topic PageWar between Germany, Italy, and Japan (the Axis powers) on one side, and Britain, the Commonwealth, France, the USA, the USSR, and China (the Allies) on the other.
Civil Rights Act of 1964: Topic PageUS legislation that outlawed discrimination on the grounds of a person's colour, race, national origin, religion, or sex.
Pentagon Papers: Topic PageGovernment study of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia. Commissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara in June, 1967, the 47-volume, top secret study covered the period from World War II to May, 1968.
Iran Hostage Crisis: Topic PageEvents following the seizure of the American embassy in Tehran by Iranian students on Nov. 4, 1979; The overthrow of Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi of Iran by an Islamic revolutionary government earlier in the year had led to a steady deterioration in Iran-U.S. relations.
Iran-Contra Affair: Topic PageSecret arrangement in the 1980s to provide funds to the Nicaraguan contra rebels from profits gained by selling arms to Iran; The Iran-contra affair was the product of two separate initiatives during the administration of President Ronald Reagan.
Movements, Issues, and Systems
Vietnam War protest movements: Topic PageDemonstrations, marches, and acts of civil disobedience in protest to US involvement in the Vietnam War (1954–75), beginning around 1965. Anti-war sentiment arose from the question of the morality of participation in what many regarded as a civil war; the growing human and environmental costs; and doubts that the US war effort would succeed
Civil Rights Movement: Topic PageUS movement especially active during the 1950s and 60s that aimed to end segregation and discrimination against blacks, as well as affirm their constitutional rights and improve their status in society.
Term Limits: Topic PageStatutory limitations placed on the number of terms officeholders may serve; Focusing especially on members of the U.S. Congress, term limits became an important national political issue during the late 1980s and early 90s and have been vigorously debated.
McCarthyism: Topic PagePeriod of political persecution during the 1950s, led by US senator Joe McCarthy, during which many public officials and private citizens were accused of being communists or communist sympathizers.
Disarmament: Topic PageReduction of a country's weapons of war.
World War I
World War I Topic Page
World War I: Topic PageWar between the Central European Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and allies) on one side and the Triple Entente (Britain and the British Empire, France, and Russia) and their allies, including the USA (which entered in 1917), on the other side.
Events and Battles
Gallipoli Campaign: Topic Page1915, Allied expedition in World War I for the purpose of gaining control of the Dardanelles and Bosporus straits, capturing Constantinople, and opening a Black Sea supply route to Russia.
Battle of VerdunFrom The Reader's Companion to Military History
Only the World War I Western Front could have produced the rationale for the Battle of Verdun.
Western FrontFrom The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Battle zone in World War I between Germany and its enemies France and Britain, extending as lines of trenches from Nieuport on the Belgian coast through Ypres, Arras, Albert, Soissons, and Rheims to Verdun, constructed by both Germany and the Allies.
Other Relevant Topic Pages
Alliance: Topic PageAgreement between two or more states to come to each other's assistance in the event of war. Alliances were criticized after World War I as having contributed to the outbreak of war, but the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been a major part of the post-1945 structure of international relations (as was the Warsaw Pact until its dissolution 1991).
Balance of Power: Topic PageIn politics, the theory that the best way of ensuring international order is to have power so distributed among states that no single state is able to achieve a dominant position.
League of Nations: Topic PageInternational organization formed after World War I to solve international disputes by arbitration. Established in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1920, the League included representatives from states throughout the world, but was severely weakened by the US decision not to become a member, and had no power to enforce its decisions.
Poison Gas: Topic PageAny of various gases sometimes used in warfare or riot control because of their poisonous or corrosive nature.
Prisoner of War: Topic PagePerson captured in war, who has fallen into the hands of, or surrendered to, an opponent.
Royal Navy: Topic PageThe navy of Britain; In World War I its main task was to protect shipping from submarine attack.
Treaty of Versailles: Topic PageA treaty that brought a formal end to the First World War.
Trench Warfare: Topic PageA form of prolonged combat characterized by opposing systems of trenches from which each side launches assaults, patrols perimeters, and tries to shelter from enemy artillery and gunfire.
War Crime: Topic PageOffence (such as murder of a civilian or a prisoner of war) that contravenes the internationally accepted laws governing the conduct of wars, particularly the Hague Convention of 1907 and the Geneva Convention of 1949.
World War II
World War II Topic Page
World War II: Topic PageWar between Germany, Italy, and Japan (the Axis powers) on one side, and Britain, the Commonwealth, France, the USA, the USSR, and China (the Allies) on the other.
Causes
World War I: Topic Page War between the Central European Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and allies) on one side and the Triple Entente (Britain and the British Empire, France, and Russia) and their allies, including the USA (which entered in 1917), on the other side.
Kellogg-Briand Pact: Topic PageAgreement, signed Aug. 27, 1928, condemning "recourse to war for the solution of international controversies."
Treaty of Versailles: Topic Page
When World War I ended in 1918, the victorious Allies, led by the UK, France, and the USA, held discussions at the palace of Versailles in 1919 on Germany and how to reorder Europe.
Fourteen Points: Topic PageFormulation of a peace program, presented at the end of World War I by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson.
The Great Depression: Topic PageThe severe economic crisis supposedly precipitated by the U.S. stock-market crash of 1929.
Imperialism: Topic Page
Broadly, the extension of rule or influence by one government, nation, or society over another.
Reparations: Topic PagePayments or other compensation offered as an indemnity for loss or damage.
Battles and Events
Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Topic Page
The United States used an atomic bomb against the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Three days later, on August 9, it dropped a bomb on Nagasaki.
Berlin Airlift: Topic PageA massive airlift of essential supplies flown in to post-war Berlin.
Berlin Blockade: Topic PageThe closing of entry to Berlin from the west by Soviet Forces from June 1948 to May 1949; It was an attempt to prevent the other Allies (the USA, France, and the UK) unifying the western part of Germany.
MORE D-Day: Topic PageThe day of the Allied invasion of Normandy under the command of General Eisenhower to commence Operation Overlord, the liberation of Western Europe from German occupation.
Holocaust: Topic PageName given to the period of persecution and extermination of European Jews by Nazi Germany.
Nuremberg Trials: Topic Page
After World War II, the trials of the 24 chief Nazi war criminals November 1945-October 1946 by an international military tribunal consisting of four judges and four prosecutors.
Pearl Harbor: Topic Page
US Pacific naval base on Oahu island, Hawaii, USA, the scene of a Japanese aerial attack on 7 December 1941, which brought the USA into World War II.
Potsdam Conference: Topic PageMeeting (July 17–Aug. 2, 1945) of the principal Allies in World War II (the United States, the USSR, and Great Britain) to clarify and implement agreements previously reached at the Yalta Conference.
The Manhattan Project: Topic Page
The wartime effort to design and build the first nuclear weapons (atomic bombs).
Yalta Conference: Topic PageMeeting (Feb. 4–11, 1945), at Yalta, Crimea, USSR, of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin
MORE
Other Relevant Topic Pages
Atomic Bomb: Topic Page
Or A-bomb, weapon deriving its explosive force from the release of atomic energy through the fission (splitting) of heavy nuclei.
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955): Topic PageGerman-born US theoretical physicist who revolutionized our understanding of matter, space, and time with his two theories of relativity; In 1939, Einstein used his reputation to draw the attention of the US president to the possibility that Germany might be developing the atomic bomb. This prompted US efforts to produce the bomb, though Einstein did not take part in them.
Concentration Camps: Topic Page
A detention site outside the normal prison system created for military or political purposes to confine, terrorize, and, in some cases, kill civilians.
Hydrogen Bomb: Topic PageOr H-bomb, weapon deriving a large portion of its energy from the nuclear fusion of hydrogen isotopes.
Nuclear Warfare: Topic PageWar involving the use of nuclear weapons; Nuclear-weapons research began in Britain in 1940, but was transferred to the USA after it entered World War II.
The Cold War
Events and Battles
Bay of Pigs Invasion: Topic Page1961, an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles, supported by the U.S. government.
Cuban Missile Crisis: Topic PageConfrontation in international relations in October 1962 when Soviet rockets were installed in Cuba and US president John F Kennedy compelled Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, by military threats and negotiation, to remove them.
My Lai Incident: Topic PageIn the Vietnam War, a massacre of Vietnamese civilians by U.S. soldiers. On Mar. 16, 1968, a unit of the U.S. army Americal division, led by Lt. William L. Calley, invaded the South Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai (more correctly, Son My), an alleged Viet Cong stronghold.
Red Scare: Topic PageCampaign against communists (called ‘reds’) in the USA during the 20th century, and associated atmosphere of suspicion and fear.
Vietnam War: Topic PageWar from 1954 to 1975 between communist North Vietnam and US-backed South Vietnam, in which North Vietnam aimed to conquer South Vietnam and unite the country as a communist state; North Vietnam was supported by communist rebels from South Vietnam, the Vietcong.
People
Nikita Khruschev (1894 - 1971): Topic PageSoviet Communist leader, premier of the USSR (1958-64), and first secretary of the Communist party of the Soviet Union (1953-64).
Fidel Castro (1927 - ): Topic PageCuban communist politician, prime minister 1959–76 and president 1976–2008. He led the revolution that overthrew the right-wing regime of the dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959.
Other Relevant Topic Pages
Anti-Vietnam War Protests: Topic PageDemonstrations, marches, and acts of civil disobedience in protest to US involvement in the Vietnam War (1954–75), beginning around 1965. Anti-war sentiment arose from the question of the morality of participation in what many regarded as a civil war; the growing human and environmental costs; and doubts that the US war effort would succeed.
Communism: Topic PageFundamentally, a system of social organization in which property (especially real property and the means of production) is held in common
MORE Espionage: Topic PageThe act of obtaining information clandestinely; The term applies particularly to the act of collecting military, industrial, and political data about one nation for the benefit of another.
Karl Marx (1818 - 1883): Topic PageGerman founder of modern communism, in England from 1849; With Engels, he wrote The Communist Manifesto (1848). He developed his theories of the class struggle and the economics of capitalism in Das Kapital (1867; 1885; 1895). He was one of the founders of the International Workingmen's Association (First International) (1864).
North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Topic PageMilitary association of major Western European and North American states set up under the North Atlantic Treaty of 4 April 1949
MORE Propaganda: Topic PageSystematic manipulation of public opinion, generally by the use of symbols such as flags, monuments, oratory, and publications.
Socialism: Topic PageGeneral term for the political and economic theory that advocates a system of collective or government ownership and management of the means of production and distribution of goods.
Warsaw Pact: Topic PageMilitary defensive alliance 1955-91 between the USSR and East European communist states, originally established as a response to the admission of West Germany into NATO. Its military structures and agreements were dismantled early in 1991; a political organization remained until the alliance was officially dissolved in July 1991.
21st Century
Events
War on Terror: Topic PageUS-led international campaign against terrorist organizations, declared in response to the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, DC, on September 11th, 2001 that killed around 3,000 people.
Recession: Topic PageIn economics, phase of the business cycle associated with a declining economy; Its manifestations are rising unemployment, contracting business activity, and decreasing purchasing power of consumers. Government policy, such as cuts in government spending or taxes, may be used to stimulate and expand the economy during a recession. If a recession is not checked, it can degenerate into a depression.
War on Terror
Notable Figures and Groups
Osama Bin Laden (1957 - 2011): Topic PageAn Islamic militant and exponent of terror as a means of political communication.
Al Qaeda: Topic PageIslamic-extremist international terrorist organization, nominally controlled by Osama bin Laden. It was responsible on 11 September 2001 for the world's single worst terrorist atrocity, with the suicide hijackings of airliners that crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and other targets, including the Pentagon, at the cost of around 3,000 lives.
Taliban: Topic PageAfghan political and religious military force that seized control of southern and central Afghanistan, including the country's capital, Kabul, in September 1996.
Saddam Hussein (1937 - ): Topic PageIraqi leader, in power from 1968, president 1979-2003. He presided over the Iran-Iraq war 1980-88.
Events and Battles
Afghanistan War: Topic PageS-led military action against Afghanistan beginning 7 October 2001. This first strike in the war on terror followed the refusal of the Taliban regime to surrender Saudi-born terrorist Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist network responsible for the attacks on New York City and Washington, DC, on 11 September 2001.
September 11: Topic PageThe day on which a terrorist attack in the US destroyed the World Trade Centre in New York and severely damaged the Pentagon in Washington, DC, causing the deaths of almost 3000 people.
Other Relevant Topic Pages
USA PATRIOT Act: Topic PageQuickly enacted with little opposition in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the USA PATRIOT Act primarily enlarged the powers of federal law-enforcement and intelligence-gathering agencies when dealing with terror crimes, but sections of the extensive bill also apply to criminal acts generally.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA):Topic PageOne of the first facts to come out of the investigations into September 11 was that the FAA had failed to provide the necessary airport security to prevent the September 11 attacks. Rather than reform the old system, a new agency, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), was proposed to handle a revamped federal government security program.
Terrorism: Topic PageSystematic violence in the furtherance of political aims, often by small guerrilla groups.
World Trade Center: Topic PageFormer building complex in lower Manhattan, New York City, consisting of seven buildings and a shopping concourse on a 16-acre (6.5-hectare) site; it was destroyed by a terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001.
Iraq: Topic PageCountry in southwest Asia, bounded north by Turkey, east by Iran, southeast by the Gulf and Kuwait, south by Saudi Arabia, and west by Jordan and Syria.
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US scientist and statesman.
Struggle by which the Thirteen Colonies on the Atlantic seaboard of North America won independence from Great Britain and became the United States.
11th President of the United States (1845–49)
16th President of the United States (1861–65)
21st President of the United States (1881–1885)
26th President of the United States (1901–1909)
29th President of the United States (1921–1923)
American clergyman and civil-rights leader.
43rd president of the United States (2001–2009) 
