G10 Glossary
United Nations (UN) (p. 732) An international organization,
founded in 1945, that sought to promote discussion and negotia-
tion and thereby avoid war; it was joined by nearly all nations.
United States v. Richard M. Nixon(p. 792) A Supreme Court
ruling (1974) that obliged President Richard Nixon to turn over
to the Watergate special prosecutor sixty-four White House audio-
tapes; these helped prove that Nixon had known about the cover-
up of the Watergate burglary.
utopian (p. 278) Any of countless schemes to create a
perfect society.
Virginia Plan (p. 147) An initiative, proposed by James
Madison of Virginia, calling on the Constitutional Convention to
declare that seats in the federal legislature would be proportion-
ate to a state’s population, a concept that caused smaller states to
propose a New Jersey plan in which each state would have the
same number of representatives. The controversy was resolved in
the Great Compromise.
Voting Rights Act of 1965 (p. 776) Federal legislation that
empowered federal registrars to intervene when southern states
and municipalities refused to let African Americans register
to vote.
Wade-Davis bill (p. 406) An 1864 alternative to Lincoln’s “Ten
Percent Plan,” this measure required a majority of voters in a
southern state to take a loyalty oath in order to begin the process
of Reconstruction and guarantee black equality. It also required
the repudiation of the Confederate debt. The president exercised a
pocket veto, and it never became law.
Wagner Act (p. 694) Officially the National Labor Relations Act
and sometimes called Labor’s Magna Carta, it gave workers the
right to organize and bargain collectively. It also created the
National Labor Relations Board to supervise union elections and
stop unfair labor practices by employers.
War Hawks (p. 198) Young congressional leaders who in 1811
and 1812 called for war against Great Britain as the only way to
defend the national honor.
War Industries Board (WIB) (p. 621) A federal agency, estab-
lished during World War I, that reorganized industry for maxi-
mum efficiency and productivity.
War of 1812 (p. 198) A war fought by the United States and
Britain from 1812 to 1815 over British restrictions on American
shipping.
war on terror (p. 858) Initially, a worldwide campaign to catch
and prosecute those guilty of the September 11, 2001, attacks; as
terrorist attacks spread throughout the world, the war became
defined far more broadly.
Watergate scandal (p. 790) A complex scandal involving
attempts to cover up illegal actions taken by administration offi-
cials and leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon
in 1974.
Whigs (p. 260) Originally a reference to British politicians who
sought to exclude the Catholic Duke of York from succession to
the throne in the 1760s; in the United States after the 1830s, it
referred to a political party that opposed the Jacksonian Democrats
and favored a strong role for the national government, especially in
promoting economic growth.tenement (p. 497) Four- to six-story residential apartment house,
once common in New York and certain other cities, built on a tiny
lot with little regard for adequate ventilation or light.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (p. 689) ANew Deal
agency that built and operated dams and power plants on the
Tennessee River; it also promoted flood control, soil conservation,
and reforestation.
Tet offensive (p. 782) A wide-ranging offensive, launched by
North Vietnamese and Vietcong troops throughout South
Vietnam in February 1968. It failed to cause the South
Vietnamese government to collapse, but persuaded many
Americans that the war was not winnable. President Lyndon B.
Johnson announced his decision not to run for reelection several
months later.
Thirteenth Amendment (p. 407) Passed in 1865, this amend-
ment declared an end to slavery and negated the Three-fifths
Clause in the Constitution, thereby increasing the representation
of the southern states in Congress.
Three-Fifths Compromise (p. 148) The provision in the
Constitution that defined slaves, for purposes of representation in
the House of Representatives and state tax payments, not as full
persons, but as constituting only three-fifths of a person.
Trail of Tears (p. 258) The name for the 1838 forced removal of
Cherokee and other Indians from Georgia and the western
Appalachians to Indian Territory in Oklahoma and nearby regions.
transcendentalism (p. 286) A diverse and loosely defined philos-
ophy that promoted a mystical, intuitive way of looking at life that
subordinated facts to feelings. Transcendentalists argued that
humans could transcend reason and intellectual capacities by hav-
ing faith in themselves and in the fundamental benevolence of the
universe. They were complete individualists.
Transcontinental Treaty (p. 206) Also called the Adams-Onís
Treaty. Ratified in 1821, it acquired Florida and stretched the
western boundary of the Louisiana Territory to the Oregon coast.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (p. 309) Signed in 1848, this
treaty ended the Mexican War, forcing that nation to relinquish
all of the land north of the Rio Grande and Gila Rivers, including
what would eventually become California, in return for monetary
compensations.
Treaty of Tordesillas (p. 22) Negotiated by the pope in 1494,
this treaty resolved the territorial claims of Spain and Portugal; in
the Western Hemisphere Portugal was granted Brazil, while Spain
was granted nearly all of the remaining lands.
triangular trade (p. 71) An oversimplified term for the trade
among England, its colonies in the Americas, and slave markets in
Africa and the Caribbean.
Truman Doctrine (p. 741) A foreign policy, articulated by President
Harry Truman in 1947, that provided financial aid to Greek and
Turkish governments then under threat by communists rebels.
Underground Railroad (p. 350) A support system established
by antislavery groups in the upper South and the North to help
fugitive slaves who had escaped from the South to make their way
to Canada.
Underwood Tariff (p. 576) A 1913 reform law that lowered tar-
iff rates and levied the first regular federal income tax.