GED Social Studies Test flashcards

A conflict between the United States and Spain that ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in U.S. acquisition of territories in the western Pacific and Latin America.

• Fought over Cuba's independence from Spain.
• Resulted in U.S. control of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.
• Marked the rise of the U.S. as a world power with overseas possessions.
• Fueled debates over American imperialism.

Memory trick: War with Spain, new lands gained, global power proclaimed.

Resources that are continuously available and are not diminished by human use, as long as their flow is managed sustainably.

• Examples include solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, and flowing water.
• Their availability depends on natural processes.
• Can be harnessed for energy or other uses.

Memory trick: Resources flow, renew, or deplete: choose wisely for the future.

A divergent plate boundary is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other, resulting in the upwelling of magma and the formation of new crust.

• Plates pull apart (diverge).
• Associated with rift valleys, mid-oceanic ridges, and volcanism.
• Creates new oceanic crust.

Memory trick: Plates 'collide', 'divide', or 'slide' to shape the world.

A graphical illustration that shows the distribution of various age groups in a human population, which forms the shape of a pyramid when the population is growing.

• Displays age and sex structure.
• Can indicate birth rates, death rates, and life expectancy.
• Useful for projecting future demographic trends.

Memory trick: Pyramids reveal the population's past, present, and future shape.

Resource management is the process of planning, organizing, and controlling the use of natural resources to ensure their sustainable availability and benefit for current and future generations.

• Aims for sustainable use of resources.
• Involves policies, regulations, and conservation efforts.
• Considers ecological, economic, and social factors.

Memory trick: Wise managers plan for today and tomorrow's needs.

A dry area on the leeward (downwind) side of a mountain range, caused by the orographic lift of moist air on the windward side, leading to precipitation there and dry, descending air on the leeward side.

• Caused by mountains blocking moist air
• Windward side receives heavy precipitation
• Leeward side experiences dry conditions (rain shadow)
• Involves orographic lift

Memory trick: Mountain air goes up and over, making one side wet, the other dry forever.

The study of the geographic distribution of plants and animals, and the environmental factors that affect their distribution.

• Examines patterns of biodiversity.
• Considers historical and ecological factors.
• Includes human impact on species distribution.

Memory trick: Physical geography explores Earth's natural systems, from land to sea to sky.

The paradox that countries with an abundance of natural resources (like oil or minerals) tend to have less economic growth, less democracy, and worse development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources, often due to over-reliance on the resource and associated governance issues.

• Paradox of abundance leading to poor development
• Often linked to single-commodity dependence
• Can cause price volatility, corruption, lack of diversification
• Impacts economic stability and political development

Memory trick: Rich in one, economic fun, turn to curse when it's done.

A large, flat, elevated area of land, typically with one or more steep sides, that rises sharply above the surrounding area.

• Flat top surface
• Elevated relative to surroundings
• Often has steep escarpments (sides)
• Can be formed by volcanic activity or erosion

Memory trick: Flat top, steep drop, a plateau's the stop.

The Demographic Transition Model (DTM) describes changes in population growth rates over time, based on observed changes in birth and death rates due to industrialization and development.

• Has typically five stages.
• Illustrates the shift from high birth/death rates to low birth/death rates.
• Explains population growth patterns in relation to economic development.

Memory trick: DTM shows how 'births' and 'deaths' 'transition' a nation's size.

The process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.

• Degradation of dryland ecosystems.
• Caused by human activities and climate variations.
• Leads to loss of biodiversity and reduced agricultural productivity.

Memory trick: Desertification: when fertile lands turn to dust, often by human hand.

A vast, flat, treeless Arctic region in which the subsoil is permanently frozen (permafrost).

• Characterized by extremely cold temperatures.
• Low biodiversity, dominated by mosses, lichens, dwarf shrubs.
• Has a short growing season.

Memory trick: Climate zones dictate biomes, from hot jungles to icy tundras.

The branch of physical geography and Earth science that studies the oceans, including their physical and biological properties, and phenomena.

• Covers ocean currents, tides, waves, marine life.
• Examines ocean chemistry and geology.
• Crucial for understanding global climate and ecosystems.

Memory trick: Physical geography explores Earth's natural systems, from land to sea to sky.

A type of map that uses lines to connect points of equal value, illustrating continuous distributions like elevation, temperature, or precipitation.

• Lines connect points of equal value
• Used for continuous data (e.g., elevation, temperature, pressure)
• Examples include isotherms (temperature), isobars (pressure), isohyets (rainfall)

Memory trick: Map lines of equal value, isoline is the view.

An inertial force that acts on objects that are in motion relative to a rotating reference frame. On Earth, this force deflects moving objects (like air and water) to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.

• Caused by Earth's rotation
• Influences global wind and ocean currents
• Strength increases with speed of motion and latitude

Memory trick: Spinning Earth makes winds veer, that's the Coriolis gear.

Immigrants arriving in the U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th centuries often faced harsh realities, including social prejudice, economic exploitation, and difficult living conditions.

• Experienced nativism and discrimination.
• Lived in overcrowded, unsanitary urban tenements.
• Worked in dangerous, low-paying industrial jobs.
• Struggled with language barriers and cultural adjustment.

Memory trick: New shores brought new struggles: crowded, tough, and often judged.

A surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941.

• Resulted in over 2,400 American casualties.
• Crippled much of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
• Prompted the U.S. declaration of war on Japan the following day.

Memory trick: Pearl Harbor's fire, ignited war's desire.

A slogan reflecting the colonists' primary grievance that they were being taxed by the British Parliament without having any elected representatives in that body.

• Central to colonial protests against the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts.
• Argued that taxation without consent was a violation of English rights.
• Fueled sentiment for independence from British rule.

Memory trick: Taxed without a say, led to a revolutionary day.

A decade of economic growth and cultural change in the United States and Europe during the 1920s.

• Characterized by jazz music, flapper fashion, and new social freedoms.
• Saw the rise of mass consumer culture and new technologies like radio and automobiles.
• Experienced a period of economic prosperity before the Great Depression.
• Marked by significant shifts in societal norms and values.

Memory trick: Jazz, cars, and freedom roared through the twenties.

A series of English laws, beginning in 1651, that controlled colonial trade and shipping to favor English economic interests.

• Required most colonial goods to be shipped on English vessels.
• Mandated certain enumerated goods could only be shipped to England.
• Aimed to create a favorable balance of trade for England.
• Contributed to colonial resentment and the push for independence.

Memory trick: Trade chains sparked the revolution's flames.

A period in U.S. history (late 19th century) marked by rapid economic growth, particularly in industry, but also by significant social inequality and political corruption.

• Rise of 'Captains of Industry' like Carnegie, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt.
• Emergence of powerful monopolies and trusts.
• Massive urbanization and immigration.
• Significant wealth disparity.

Memory trick: The Gilded Age saw 'Giants of Industry' controlling the economy.

A constitutional amendment ratified in 1920 that granted American women the right to vote, ending nearly a century of protest and activism.

• Prohibits voter discrimination based on sex.
• Culmination of the women's suffrage movement.
• Significantly expanded the electorate.

Memory trick: Voting rights grew, amendment by amendment, making the nation more true.

The study of the interrelationship between people and their physical environment, examining how humans adapt to, modify, and depend on the environment, and how the environment affects human societies.

• Focuses on reciprocal relationships.
• Includes adaptation, modification, and dependency.
• A core theme in geography.

Memory trick: Humans and Earth always interact, for better or worse.

An ethical principle requiring researchers to obtain voluntary agreement from participants (or affected communities) to be involved in a study or project, after being fully informed of its nature, risks, and benefits.

• Voluntary participation
• Full disclosure of project details
• Especially crucial for vulnerable populations (e.g., indigenous communities)
• Ensures respect for autonomy and self-determination

Memory trick: Research impacts, communities have rights; consent and participation are guiding lights.

A combination of factors led to the severe economic downturn of the 1930s, including financial instability, agricultural struggles, and unequal distribution of wealth.

• Stock market crash of 1929.
• Banking panics and widespread bank failures.
• Overproduction and underconsumption.
• High tariffs and international trade disruptions.

Memory trick: DEPRESSION's roots were deep: stocks, banks, and farms all weak.

The newly formed United States faced severe economic issues due to the weak central government established by the Articles of Confederation.

• No power to tax, leading to national debt and inability to pay soldiers.
• No uniform currency; states printed their own, causing inflation.
• Inability to regulate interstate trade, leading to disputes and tariffs.

Memory trick: Articles were 'Artless' at governing, especially economically.

A landmark Supreme Court case that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional.

• Overturned the 'separate but equal' doctrine from *Plessy v. Ferguson*.
• Argued that segregated schools were inherently unequal.
• Paved the way for desegregation of public schools.
• Considered a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement.

Memory trick: Brown's decision broke Plessy's 'separate' decree.

The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, which provided a range of benefits for returning World War II veterans, including educational assistance, low-cost mortgages, and unemployment insurance.

• Crucial for the growth of the American middle class.
• Led to a significant increase in college enrollment and homeownership.
• Boosted suburban development and economic prosperity.

Memory trick: War's end, boom's trend, GI Bill's friend.

An isobar is a line on a weather map or chart that connects points of equal atmospheric pressure.

• Used in meteorology to visualize pressure systems.
• Closely spaced isobars indicate strong winds.
• Help predict weather patterns like fronts and storms.

Memory trick: Iso-lines show 'equal' values, like a map's secret code.

The Declaration of Independence's principles of natural rights, popular sovereignty, and the right to revolution profoundly influenced subsequent movements for freedom and democracy worldwide.

• Articulated Enlightenment ideals in a political document.
• Inspired declarations of independence and revolutionary movements globally.
• Its ideas of 'all men are created equal' and 'unalienable rights' became foundational.

Memory trick: Declaration's echo, freedom's flow.

A series of programs and reforms in the United States between 1933 and 1939, enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, designed to combat the Great Depression.

• Focused on 'Relief, Recovery, and Reform'.
• Included programs like the CCC, WPA, Social Security Act.
• Significantly expanded the power and scope of the federal government.

Memory trick: New Deal, new government appeal.

Physical geography is the branch of geography concerned with the natural features and phenomena of the Earth's surface, such as climate, landforms, vegetation, and hydrology.

• Studies Earth's natural systems and processes.
• Includes sub-disciplines like climatology, geomorphology, biogeography.
• Contrasts with human geography, which focuses on human activities.

Memory trick: Geography branches out to study both 'human' impacts and 'physical' Earth.

An economic system in which transactions between private parties are free from government intervention such as regulation, privileges, tariffs, and subsidies.

• Prevalent in the U.S. during the Gilded Age.
• Associated with minimal government oversight of business.
• Often led to the growth of monopolies and wealth disparity.

Memory trick: Gilded Age's gleam, minimal government's dream.

A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality, a doctrine that came to be known as 'separate but equal'.

• Legalized Jim Crow laws and racial segregation.
• Applied to schools, public transport, and other public facilities.
• Overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

Memory trick: Court cases shaped rights, some dividing, some uniting.

Adjustments in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.

• Focuses on coping with impacts already happening or expected.
• Examples include building defenses, changing agricultural practices.
• Distinct from mitigation, which reduces causes.

Memory trick: We can mitigate its causes or adapt to its changes.

A thematic map in which areas are shaded or patterned in proportion to the measurement of the statistical variable being displayed on the map, such as population density or per capita income.

• Uses color intensity or patterns.
• Applies to predefined geographic areas.
• Displays quantitative data.

Memory trick: Maps show location, but thematic maps tell a story with data.

The 19th-century belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable.

• Coined by journalist John L. O'Sullivan in 1845.
• Used to justify territorial acquisitions like the Oregon Territory and Mexican Cession.
• Often involved the displacement of Native American populations.

Memory trick: Destiny's call, expanded it all.

A series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party, aimed at punishing Massachusetts and asserting British authority.

• Closed Boston Harbor until tea was paid for.
• Curtailed self-governance in Massachusetts.
• Expanded the Quartering Act to all colonies.

Memory trick: Intolerable Acts: Britain's 'Intolerable' push for control ignited colonial fury.

A period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States from the 1890s to the 1920s, aimed at combating corruption, monopolies, and social injustices.

• Sought to regulate big business and break up trusts.
• Introduced consumer protection laws (e.g., Pure Food and Drug Act).
• Promoted worker rights and fairer labor practices.

Memory trick: Progressives aimed to balance power, not just build factories.

An alluvial plain is a flat area of land formed by the deposition of sediment by a river or stream over a long period.

• Formed by sediment (alluvium) deposited by flowing water.
• Typically found in river valleys or at the base of mountains.
• Often very fertile and suitable for agriculture.

Memory trick: Rivers deposit dirt, making plains fertile and wide.

A process within GIS that identifies differences in the state of an object or phenomenon by observing it at different times. It is commonly used with remote sensing data to monitor land cover changes like deforestation or urbanization.

• Compares multi-temporal datasets (images from different dates)
• Quantifies changes in land cover or features
• Requires accurate co-registration of images
• Used for environmental monitoring, urban growth, disaster assessment

Memory trick: To see what's changed, compare the dates, change detection facilitates.

Money sent by migrant workers to their families or communities in their home country, often a crucial source of income and foreign exchange for developing nations.

• Funds sent by migrants to home country
• Significant impact on developing economies
• Can reduce poverty and boost local investment
• Often more stable than other capital flows

Memory trick: Migrants send money back, 'remit' the economic track.

A U.S. foreign policy, announced by President Harry S. Truman in 1947, stating that the U.S. would provide political, military, and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces.

• Aimed to contain Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War.
• First applied to aid Greece and Turkey against communist insurgencies.
• Marked a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy towards interventionism.

Memory trick: Doctrines defined defense against creeping communism.

A landmark Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review in the United States.

• Chief Justice John Marshall presided.
• Court declared a portion of the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional.
• Empowered the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution and invalidate laws.

Memory trick: Marbury's 'Magic' decision gave the Court the power to review laws.

The United States' strategy during the Cold War (1947-1991) primarily focused on containing the spread of communism globally.

• Characterized by ideological conflict with the Soviet Union.
• Led to the formation of military alliances like NATO.
• Involved proxy wars and an arms race, but no direct military conflict between the superpowers.

Memory trick: Cold War's chill, global role still.

A 1765 British Act that imposed a direct tax on all printed materials in the American colonies, including legal documents, newspapers, and playing cards.

• First direct tax on colonists by the British Parliament.
• Led to widespread protests, boycotts, and the formation of the Stamp Act Congress.
• Fueled the 'No taxation without representation' argument.

Memory trick: STAMPede of taxes ignited the Revolution's fire.

World War II profoundly transformed the U.S. economy, pulling it out of the Great Depression and establishing it as a dominant global economic power.

• Ended the Great Depression through massive government spending and war production.
• Achieved full employment and increased wages.
• Led to rationing and price controls.
• Expanded federal government's role in the economy.

Memory trick: War production propelled the nation's economy to new heights.

A controversial U.S. law passed after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, significantly expanding the surveillance and investigative powers of law enforcement agencies.

• Stands for 'Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act'.
• Expanded government ability to monitor communications, financial transactions, and internet activity.
• Raised concerns about civil liberties and privacy.

Memory trick: After 9/11, security tightened, laws changed, and agencies merged.

The mutual reliance among countries and regions on shared environmental resources and the interconnectedness of environmental problems, where actions in one area affect others globally.

• Global environmental issues like climate change, biodiversity loss.
• Requires international cooperation for solutions.
• Highlights the shared responsibility for Earth's health.

Memory trick: Global connections weave nations together through trade, culture, and power.

A tectonic plate boundary where two plates move toward each other and collide. This can result in subduction, mountain building, or volcanic activity.

• Plates move towards each other
• Causes crustal compression, folding, uplift
• Forms mountain ranges, deep ocean trenches, volcanic arcs
• Examples: Himalayas, Andes

Memory trick: Plates meet, mountains greet, convergent is the feat.

The profound changes in social structure, demographics, and daily life resulting from the Industrial Revolution in the United States.

• Led to rapid urbanization and population growth in cities.
• Created a distinct industrial working class.
• Resulted in new social problems like poverty, poor sanitation, and child labor.

Memory trick: Industry's hum, new social sums.

A river delta is a landform that forms from the deposition of sediment carried by a river as its flow leaves its mouth and enters slower-moving or stagnant water.

• Formed at the mouth of a river.
• Characterized by multiple distributaries (channels).
• Often very fertile and densely populated.

Memory trick: Coastal shapes show where 'land' meets 'sea' in unique ways.

A struggle for social justice that took place mainly during the 1950s and 1960s for Black Americans to gain equal rights under the law in the United States.

• Used nonviolent protest and civil disobedience.
• Led to landmark legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965.
• Aimed to end racial segregation and discrimination.

Memory trick: Rights for all, standing tall.

The increasing interdependence of world economies as a result of the growing scale of cross-border trade of commodities and services, flow of international capital, and wide and rapid spread of technologies.

• Driven by multinational corporations.
• Involves global supply chains and markets.
• Can lead to both economic growth and social inequalities.

Memory trick: Global connections weave nations together through trade, culture, and power.

Loyalty to one's own region or section of the country, rather than to the country as a whole, particularly pronounced between the North and South over slavery and economic differences.

• Fueled by differing economic systems (industrial North vs. agricultural South).
• Central to debates over states' rights and federal power.
• Contributed significantly to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Memory trick: Sections pulling apart, breaking the nation's heart.

The process of increasing interconnectedness and interdependence among countries through the integration of economies, cultures, technologies, and governance.

• Involves economic, social, political, and cultural integration
• Driven by technological advancements and policy changes
• Impacts global supply chains, trade, and migration
• Can lead to both opportunities and challenges

Memory trick: World's linked tight, globalization's light.

Significant shifts in U.S. domestic policy in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

• Creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
• Passage of the USA PATRIOT Act.
• Increased focus on intelligence gathering and counter-terrorism.
• Enhanced airport security measures (TSA).

Memory trick: 9/11's 'Security Shift' changed how America protected itself.

The primary reasons driving European powers to explore and colonize the Americas, often summarized as 'God, gold, and glory.'

• Economic: Search for wealth (gold, silver, furs) and new trade routes.
• Religious: Desire to spread Christianity.
• Political: Competition for power and prestige among European nations.

Memory trick: Gold, God, and Glory, a colonist's story.

A highly publicized trial in Dayton, Tennessee, where a high school teacher was accused of violating a state law prohibiting the teaching of evolution.

• Pitted religious fundamentalism against scientific modernism.
• Clarence Darrow defended Scopes; William Jennings Bryan prosecuted.
• Exposed deep cultural divides in 1920s America.

Memory trick: The 'Roaring Twenties' roared with debates between old and new.

A power of the United States Senate to approve or reject treaties made by the President and to confirm presidential appointments to the federal government.

• Requires a two-thirds vote for treaty ratification.
• Requires a simple majority for most presidential appointments.
• A key check on executive power in foreign policy and appointments.

Memory trick: Legislative Checks the Exec with Law and Consent.