MTLE Social Studies (5-12) key terms

original material created by a participant or eyewitness at the time of an event, such as letters, photographs, laws, or artifacts; historians analyze it for perspective, purpose, and audience

work that interprets or synthesizes primary sources and other evidence, such as textbooks, scholarly articles, or documentaries; it reflects an author's choices and should be evaluated rather than accepted as raw fact

the historical thinking practice of asking who created a source, when, where, why, and for whom before using it as evidence; it helps identify reliability, perspective, and limitations

comparing multiple sources that address the same event or question to identify agreement, contradiction, and gaps; historians use it to strengthen claims and detect unreliable or one-sided evidence

placing a source or event within its broader political, social, economic, and cultural setting to interpret meaning accurately; it prevents judging the past only by present-day assumptions and values

analysis of why events happened, distinguishing long-term structural causes, immediate triggers, and contributing factors, and weighing how different causes interacted rather than assuming a single reason

19th-century U.S. belief that the nation was destined to expand across North America; it justified territorial acquisition and westward settlement while enabling displacement of Native peoples and debates over slavery

period after the Civil War, roughly 1865 to 1877, when federal policy addressed former Confederate states, emancipation, and civil rights; amendments expanded rights, but white resistance and reduced enforcement curtailed change

system of state and local laws and customs enforcing racial segregation and Black subordination, especially in the South from the late 1800s into the 1960s; challenges culminated in civil rights legislation

series of 1930s federal programs and reforms responding to the Great Depression, including relief, public works, financial regulation, and social insurance; it expanded federal responsibility and faced court and political opposition

Cold War U.S. strategy of limiting Soviet and communist expansion through alliances, aid, military force, and deterrence rather than direct rollback; it shaped policy in Europe, Asia, and the developing world

landmark federal law prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in employment and public accommodations, and strengthening voting rights enforcement

transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Americas and Afro-Eurasia after 1492; it transformed diets, populations, and economies, with catastrophic disease effects on Indigenous peoples

transition from hand production to machine manufacturing and factory systems, beginning in 18th-century Britain; it reshaped work, cities, class relations, and global power

policy of extending a state's power through territorial acquisition or economic and political domination; late 19th-century European, U.S., and Japanese expansion reshaped Africa, Asia, and the Pacific

identification with and loyalty to a nation, often coupled with claims about its interests or superiority; it can mobilize independence movements or fuel exclusion, conflict, and ethnic persecution

process by which colonies gained political independence, especially after World War II; it involved negotiation, armed struggle, and new states facing border, economic, and identity challenges

European cultural and intellectual movement from roughly the 14th to 17th centuries emphasizing classical learning, humanism, and artistic innovation; it interacted with religious, political, and economic changes and spread through printing

conditions that drive people away from a place, called push, or attract them to another, called pull, such as conflict, jobs, or family; migration analysis combines both with barriers and personal choice

region where a set of cultural practices, ideas, or technologies originated and spread; examples include river valleys where early agriculture emerged and shaped later civilizations

increasing share of a population living in cities, driven by rural-to-urban migration and economic change; it creates opportunities and strains housing, infrastructure, and services

growing interconnection of economies, societies, and cultures through trade, investment, communication, and migration; it spreads ideas and goods while producing uneven benefits and political backlash

method of representing Earth's curved surface on a flat map, always distorting area, shape, distance, or direction; choosing a projection depends on the map's purpose and scale

constitutional system dividing power between a national government and state governments, with each level having its own authority; disputes over the balance shape policy in areas like education, health, and elections

dividing government authority among legislative, executive, and judicial branches so no single institution controls all functions; the design aims to prevent tyranny and encourage deliberation

mechanisms allowing each branch to limit the others, such as vetoes, override votes, Senate confirmation, and judicial review; they create negotiation and can also produce gridlock

power of courts to examine laws and government actions and declare them unconstitutional; established in U.S. practice through Marbury v. Madison in 1803 and central to constitutional interpretation

principle that political authority ultimately comes from the people, who establish and can alter government; in U.S. history it also referred to settlers deciding slavery's status in a territory

constitutional process in which electors chosen by states formally select the president and vice president; allocation reflects Senate and House representation, and most states use winner-take-all rules

constitutional guarantee that government must follow fair, established legal procedures before depriving someone of life, liberty, or property; it includes notice, hearing, and impartial decision-making

the right to vote in political elections; U.S. history includes expansions through amendments and laws, alongside persistent barriers such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and disenfranchisement

deliberate, often public refusal to obey a law or policy considered unjust, accepting legal consequences to persuade others; associated with Thoreau, Gandhi, and the U.S. civil rights movement

legal process by which a foreign-born person becomes a citizen, typically involving residency, application, examination, and an oath; requirements and pathways vary by country and status

willingness of individuals to contribute to public life and the common good, through duties like voting, jury service, informed discussion, and community participation, sometimes at personal cost

condition in which human wants exceed available resources, forcing choices; it is the foundation of economic reasoning and applies even to wealthy societies because time and resources are limited

value of the next-best alternative given up when making a choice; it includes monetary and nonmonetary costs and guides comparison of options in personal and public decisions

model describing how buyers and sellers interact; demand typically falls as price rises, supply typically rises, and their intersection suggests an equilibrium price and quantity in competitive markets

sustained rise in the general price level, reducing money's purchasing power; measured by indexes like the consumer price index, it can result from demand pressures, supply shocks, or expectations

total market value of final goods and services produced within a country's borders in a period; used to gauge economic size and growth, though it omits unpaid work and environmental costs

ability to produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than another producer; it explains gains from specialization and trade even when one party is absolutely more productive in everything