History key terms

The US law passed in October 1919 that defined the alcoholic drinks covered by prohibition and provided the mechanism for enforcing the Eighteenth Amendment.

Reliance on voluntary action by businesses, charities and communities rather than compulsory government measures.

Movement in which people choose to relocate, for example to seek work or join family.

Choosing to join the armed forces rather than being legally required to serve.

The process of signing up to become eligible to vote.

The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, established in 1917 to employ women in non-combat supporting roles for the army.

Work done for wages. This does not include unpaid work such as looking after one’s own children or running one’s own household.

A group of wagons travelling together, allowing migrants to share leadership, work and assistance.

A Lakota/Dakota spiritual concept meaning ‘Great Mystery’, also commonly translated as ‘Great Spirit’, associated with sacred power throughout the natural world.

French-speaking people from the southern Low Countries; Protestant Walloon refugees settled in Canterbury during the sixteenth century.

The collapse of share prices on the New York stock market in October 1929, which helped trigger a worldwide economic depression.

A group of warriors following a particular leader, such as a chieftain, earl or king.

Money lent to the government by members of the public to help finance a war, with repayment promised later.

The Bolsheviks' emergency economic policies during the Civil War, including state control of industry, forced grain collection and restrictions on private trade.

A journalist who reports on a war from the area where it is being fought.

The lord’s guardianship of an under-age heir and their inherited land until the heir came of age.

An economy in which production, labour and resources are increasingly directed towards fighting a war.

Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, requiring Germany to accept responsibility for wartime loss and damage and providing the basis for reparations.

A payment imposed on a defeated state to compensate the victor for the costs of war.

A military strategy aimed at wearing down an enemy’s soldiers and resources through sustained fighting.

A struggle between rival claimants to decide who will become the next ruler after the previous ruler dies.

President Johnson's campaign, announced in 1964, to reduce poverty through measures including education, job training and support for disadvantaged communities.

The international campaign launched after the September 2001 attacks to combat terrorist organisations and regimes accused of supporting them.

A political grouping within Carthage associated with Hamilcar Barca and his supporters, seeking revenge against Rome or renegotiation of the settlement after the First Punic War.

The US government organisation established in January 1942 to direct the conversion of industries to wartime production.

An organised group of young men whose responsibilities included fighting, protecting their community and helping with hunting.

The military alliance established in 1955 between the Soviet Union and communist states in Eastern Europe.

Intermittent conflicts over possession of the English crown in the later fifteenth century, associated with the rival houses of Lancaster and York.

Exhaustion and declining willingness to continue a war, caused by prolonged fighting, casualties and hardship.

White Anglo-Saxon Protestant: a label associated with Americans of British Protestant ancestry.