OCR GCSE History A key terms

The total outstanding borrowing owed by a government.

The idea that improving the population’s health and physical fitness would strengthen the country’s military and economic capabilities.

The transfer of an industry or service from private ownership into public ownership.

A political outlook that places the nation’s interests and identity first. Nazi nationalism included aggressive claims about German superiority and hostility towards supposed enemies.

An organisation founded in the USA in 1966 to campaign for women's equality through lobbying, legal challenges and pressure for enforcement of anti-discrimination laws.

A government body established by Roosevelt in January 1942 to settle labour disputes affecting war production; its authority later expanded to controlling most wage increases.

An African American religious organisation which promoted Black pride and racial separation, and through which Malcolm X became a prominent speaker.

The belief that native-born people and established national traditions should be favoured over immigrants and foreign influences.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation: a military alliance established in 1949 linking the USA, Canada and Western European countries through a commitment to collective defence.

The process through which a person acquires a country's nationality after birth by meeting its legal requirements.

A labourer employed in constructing infrastructure such as canals, roads and railways.

The agreement signed by Germany and the USSR on 23 August 1939 promising non-aggression, accompanied by a secret agreement to divide Poland between them.

The peace terms presented by Parliament to Charles I in July 1646, demanding major changes to religion and restrictions on royal power.

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s programmes introduced from 1933 to provide relief from the Great Depression, encourage economic recovery and reform the American economy.

The reorganised Parliamentarian army formed in 1645, which became an increasingly powerful political force after the First Civil War.

The growth from the late 1880s of unions recruiting less-skilled and lower-paid workers, using lower subscriptions and often more militant methods.

The purge of 30 June–2 July 1934 in which the Nazis murdered SA leaders and other political rivals, strengthening Hitler’s position and his alliance with the army.

The demands approved by Parliament in June 1642 for greater control over government, military forces and religious reform, which Charles I rejected.

The constitutional amendment ratified in 1920 that prohibited denying voting rights on grounds of sex in the United States. Other barriers to voting remained.

The unelected assembly selected by the army and its supporters to govern in 1653. It was also known as Barebone’s Parliament or the Parliament of Saints.

The failure of a member of the clergy to live in the parish or other place where their Church office required them to serve.

Action that directly challenges an injustice without using violence, such as boycotts, sit-ins and peaceful marches.

The invasion and subsequent establishment of Norman rule in England following William’s victory at Hastings in 1066.

Laws introduced in September 1935 that stripped Jewish people of German citizenship rights and prohibited marriage and sexual relations between Jews and people classified as having German or related blood.

Trials held before the International Military Tribunal in 1945–1946 to prosecute leading figures in the Nazi regime for crimes including war crimes and crimes against humanity.

A formal promise of loyalty to a ruler or government.

Control of a defeated country's territory by foreign military powers. After 1945, Germany was occupied by the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union.