S-Y terms vocabulary social studies

satellite nation

nation dominated by a more powerful nation

secede

withdraw from membership

sedition

act of causing rebellion against a government

segregation

separating people of different races in public places

self-determination

right of national groups to their own territory and forms of government

settlement house

a community center that offers services to the poor

sharecropper

person who farms land owned by someone else who is paid with a share of the crops

skilled worker

person who has learned a trade, such as carpentry

slave codes

laws that controlled the behavior of slaves and denied them basic rights

spinning jenny

machine that could spin several threads at once

spoils system

the practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs

standard of living

measurement of the quality of people's lives based on the amount of goods, services, and leisure time they have

states' rights

the right of states to limit the power of the federal government

stock

shares in a corporation

strike

a refusal of workers to work until owners of a business meet their demands

suburbs

communities outside cities

suffrage

the right to vote

suffragist

person who worked for women's right to vote

tariff

tax on goods coming into the country

telegraph

communication device that works by sending electrical signals along a wire

temperance movement

a campaign against alcohol

tenement

a building divided into small apartments with poor living conditions

tepee

tent made by stretching buffalo skins on tall poles

textile industry

business of manufacturing cloth

toleration

willingness to let others practice their religion freely

toll

money charged to use a road or bridge

totalitarian state

country in which a single party controls the government and every aspect of people's lives

total war

war in which troops destroy food and equipment useful to an enemy

town meeting

meeting at which New England colonists met to discuss issues and vote on them

trade deficit

difference that occurs when a nation buys more goods and services from foreign countries than it sells to them

trade union

organized group of skilled workers trying to improve pay and working conditions

transcontinental railroad

railroad that stretches across a continent from coast to coast

treaty

written agreement between nations

trust

groups of corporations run together as one large company

turnpike

toll road on which a pole, or "pike," was lifted after toll was paid

unconstitutional

not permitted by the Constitution

underground railroad

a network of abolitionists who secretly helped slaves escape to freedom

unemployment rate

number of people who are out of work

vaqueros

skilled riders who herded cattle in Mexico, California, and the Southwest

veto

reject

vigilante

person who decides to help keep law and order

yellow journalism

reporting designed to shock and attract readers