Grade 8 Social Studies flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Mercantilism

An economic policy where a nation builds wealth by exporting more than it imports and using colonies to supply raw materials and buy manufactured goods.

Stamp Act

A 1765 British law requiring colonists to pay a tax on printed paper items, the first direct tax on the colonies and a major cause of protest.

Declaration of Independence

The 1776 document, mainly written by Thomas Jefferson, declaring the colonies free from Britain and listing grievances against King George III.

Battle of Saratoga

A 1777 American victory in New York that convinced France to recognize the United States and join the war as an ally.

Treaty of Paris 1783

The agreement ending the Revolutionary War, recognizing American independence and setting US boundaries at the Mississippi River.

Articles of Confederation

The first US constitution, creating a weak national government with no power to tax or regulate trade, replaced by the Constitution in 1789.

Great Compromise

A Constitutional Convention agreement creating a two-house Congress: the House based on state population and the Senate with equal representation per state.

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement counting three out of every five enslaved people toward a state's population for representation and taxation purposes.

Federalist Papers

A series of essays by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay arguing for ratification of the Constitution and explaining checks and balances.

Judicial review

The power of courts to declare laws or government actions unconstitutional, established by Marbury v. Madison in 1803.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution, ratified in 1791, protecting individual freedoms such as speech, religion, and fair trial.

Dred Scott decision

An 1857 Supreme Court ruling that enslaved people were not citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories.

Emancipation Proclamation

A January 1863 order by Lincoln freeing enslaved people in Confederate-held territory, shifting the war's purpose toward ending slavery.

Reconstruction Amendments

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, which abolished slavery, guaranteed citizenship and equal protection, and protected voting rights.

Freedmen's Bureau

A federal agency created in 1865 to help formerly enslaved people with food, education, and legal assistance after the Civil War.

Black Codes

Laws passed by southern states after the Civil War to restrict the freedoms and rights of African Americans and maintain labor control.

Vertical integration

A business strategy of controlling every stage of production, from raw materials to finished product, as Carnegie did in steel.

Sherman Antitrust Act

An 1890 federal law making it illegal to form monopolies or combinations that restrain interstate trade and competition.

Muckrakers

Progressive-era journalists who exposed corruption and social problems in business and government, prompting public demand for reform.

Hull House

A Chicago settlement house founded by Jane Addams that provided education, childcare, and services to poor immigrants.

Nineteenth Amendment

The 1920 constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote in national and state elections.

Push and pull factors

Conditions that drive people away from a place, like war or famine, versus conditions that attract them, like jobs or safety.

Absolute location

A precise position on Earth described by coordinates of latitude and longitude, rather than by relation to other places.

Cultural diffusion

The spread of ideas, customs, technologies, or languages from one society to another through trade, migration, or communication.

Checks and balances

A system where each branch of government can limit the powers of the other branches, preventing any one branch from dominating.

Federalism

A system dividing power between a national government and state governments, with some powers shared and some reserved.

Naturalization

The legal process by which a foreign-born person becomes a citizen, requiring residency, tests, and an oath of allegiance.

Electoral College

The body of electors chosen by states that formally elects the president; a candidate needs 270 of 538 electoral votes.

Opportunity cost

The value of the next-best alternative given up when a choice is made because resources are limited.

Equilibrium price

The price at which the quantity of a good that buyers demand equals the quantity sellers supply in a market.

Public goods

Goods or services, like national defense or roads, that benefit everyone and are usually provided by government because markets underproduce them.

Primary source

An original record made by a participant or witness at the time of an event, such as a letter, photograph, or law.