AQA GCSE History key terms

The 1944 American law that supported military veterans through benefits including education funding and access to home loans.

A description of a period considered especially successful in culture, prosperity or other achievements; it does not mean that everyone benefited.

The people who direct the state and make decisions about how a country is governed.

The senior official responsible for overseeing British government in India; Warren Hastings became the first Governor-General of Bengal.

The compulsory seizure of grain from peasants by the state.

The wartime partnership of Britain, the USA and the USSR against their common enemies in the Second World War.

A nineteenth-century name applied by white explorers and settlers to a broad area between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, expressing their belief that it was unsuitable for farming and settlement.

The dispute over who should inherit the Scottish throne, which Edward I adjudicated, choosing John Balliol in 1292.

The belief that God had placed creation in a fixed hierarchy, making social rank and obedience part of a divinely ordered world.

The severe international economic downturn that followed the Wall Street Crash of 1929, bringing falling production, business failures and mass unemployment.

The Soviet name for the war against Nazi Germany from June 1941 to 1945, emphasising the defence of the homeland.

The largely open grassland region of central North America, where limited rainfall and few trees made settlement and farming difficult.

The building and improvement of houses during the Elizabethan period, especially as prosperous owners invested in comfort and displays of wealth.

President Lyndon B. Johnson's programme of domestic reforms aimed at reducing poverty and inequality and improving access to education and healthcare.

Hitler’s aim of creating a ‘Greater Germany’ by bringing German-speaking peoples together within one German state.

Fighting through raids and ambushes rather than relying on large, open battles.

An association of craftspeople or merchants that regulated aspects of their trade, such as training and standards.

The Soviet system of forced-labour camps in which prisoners were confined and made to work.

The resolution passed by the US Congress on 7 August 1964 that authorised President Johnson to take broad military action in Southeast Asia.

A description of Edward I emphasising his military campaigns and harsh treatment of Scottish opponents; it does not mean that he achieved lasting conquest.

A flourishing of African-American literature, music and art associated with Harlem in New York during the 1920s and 1930s.

The deliberate devastation of northern England by William’s forces in 1069–1070, involving the destruction of settlements, food supplies and livestock to crush resistance.

Industries producing basic materials, power and large machinery, such as coal mining, steelmaking and electricity generation.

A person entitled to inherit a position or property, including a royal throne.

Inheritance of the throne through the royal family rather than selection of the monarch by Parliament.

The removal of tenants from land in the Scottish Highlands, particularly during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as landowners reorganised their estates.

Taking control of an aircraft or other vehicle by force.