OSAT Middle Level Social Studies (127) flashcards

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

Great Compromise

Constitutional agreement creating a bicameral Congress: the House apportioned by state population and the Senate giving each state equal representation. It resolved the large-state versus small-state dispute.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Constitutional provision counting enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for representation and taxation. It increased Southern political power without granting enslaved people rights.

Reconstruction Amendments

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, the 14th granted citizenship and equal protection, and the 15th protected voting rights regardless of race. Ratified between 1865 and 1870.

New Deal

Federal programs of the 1930s responding to the Great Depression, including Social Security, the WPA, and the TVA. It expanded the federal government's role in the economy.

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 Supreme Court decision ruling that racial segregation in public schools violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson's separate but equal doctrine.

Federalist Papers

Essays by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay urging ratification of the Constitution. They argued that checks and balances would prevent tyranny and protect liberty.

Hammurabi's Code

Babylonian law code from Mesopotamia, inscribed around 1750 BCE. It set penalties for crimes and is among the earliest surviving written legal systems.

Hellenistic culture

Blend of Greek, Persian, Egyptian, and Indian influences spread by Alexander the Great's conquests after 323 BCE. It shaped science, art, and philosophy across the Mediterranean world.

Black Death

Plague pandemic of 1347-1351 that killed roughly one-third of Europe. Labor shortages weakened feudalism and raised wages for surviving peasants.

Printing press

Gutenberg's movable-type press, developed around 1450. It spread literacy, accelerated the Reformation, and enabled rapid circulation of new scientific ideas.

Industrial Revolution

Late 18th-century shift to machine production in factories, beginning in Britain with textiles and steam power. It caused urbanization and labor reform movements.

Nonviolent resistance

Strategy of protest through civil disobedience and peaceful demonstration, used by Gandhi against British rule in India and by Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States.

Mercator projection

Map projection preserving compass direction and useful for navigation, but it exaggerates land area near the poles, making Greenland appear larger than Africa.

Rain shadow

Dry region on the leeward side of a mountain range. Moist air rises and cools on the windward side, dropping precipitation before descending dry on the other side.

Push and pull factors

Push factors drive migration away from a place, such as war or famine; pull factors attract migrants, such as jobs or political freedom.

Cultural diffusion

Spread of ideas, technologies, or customs from one society to another through trade, migration, or conquest. It may blend or displace existing practices.

Demographic transition model

Four-stage model of population change: high birth and death rates, then falling death rates, then falling birth rates, then low rates with an aging population.

Plate boundaries

Zones where tectonic plates meet: divergent boundaries create rifts, convergent boundaries create mountains and volcanoes, and transform boundaries create faults and earthquakes.

Opportunity cost

Value of the next-best alternative given up when a choice is made. It reflects scarcity and underlies all economic decision-making.

Market equilibrium

Price at which quantity demanded equals quantity supplied. Above it a surplus appears; below it a shortage appears, pushing price back toward equilibrium.

Real GDP

Market value of final goods and services produced in a country in a year, adjusted for inflation using a base year. It measures real output growth.

Monetary policy

Central bank actions to manage money supply and interest rates. The Federal Reserve raises rates to curb inflation and lowers them to stimulate growth.

Comparative advantage

Ability to produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than another producer. It explains why countries gain from specialization and trade.

Fiscal policy

Government use of taxation and spending to influence the economy. Congress and the president enact it, unlike monetary policy set by the Federal Reserve.

Demand elasticity

Measure of how much quantity demanded responds to price changes. Necessities tend to be inelastic; goods with close substitutes tend to be elastic.

Separation of powers

Constitutional division of authority among legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Each branch can limit the others through checks and balances.

Federalism

System dividing power between national and state governments. Delegated powers are federal, reserved powers belong to states, and concurrent powers are shared.

Judicial review

Power of courts to strike down laws violating the Constitution, established in Marbury v. Madison (1803). It made the judiciary a coequal branch.

Selective incorporation

Process applying most Bill of Rights protections to state governments through the 14th Amendment's due process clause, one case at a time.

Electoral College

Body of electors chosen by states that formally elects the president. Each state's electors equal its congressional delegation, and most states use winner-take-all.

Miranda v. Arizona

1966 Supreme Court ruling requiring police to inform suspects of their rights to remain silent and to counsel before custodial interrogation.

Primary vs secondary sources

Primary sources are created by participants or witnesses at the time; secondary sources interpret and analyze primary evidence later, such as textbooks and scholarly articles.