HISTORY EXAM

Capitalism

An economic system where businesses are owned by private people, not the government, and people work for profit.

Socialism

A system where the government owns major businesses and services to help everyone get equal access to things like healthcare and education.

Democracy

A government where the people vote to make decisions or choose leaders.

Laissez-faire

An idea that the government should not get involved in business and let it run on its own.

Communism

A system where all property is shared, and the government controls everything to make everyone equal.

Absolute Monarchy

A government where a king or queen has total power over the country.

Misogyny

Dislike or hatred of women.

Xenophobia

Fear or dislike of people from other countries.

Constitution

A written plan that explains how a government works and what rights people have.

Nazism

A political movement in Germany led by Adolf Hitler, based on racism, dictatorship, and extreme nationalism.

Social Democracy

A system that combines democracy with some socialist ideas, like government help for the poor.

Colonialism

When a country controls land in another part of the world and uses it for its own benefit.

Slavery

When people are treated as property and forced to work without pay or freedom.

Marxism

The ideas of Karl Marx, saying that workers should rise up against rich owners and create a classless society.

Ethnocentrism

Thinking your own culture is better than others.

Racism

Believing that some races are better than others.

Republic

A government where leaders are elected by the people.

Fascism

A political system led by a dictator with strong control over people's lives and no tolerance for opposition.

Natural Rights

Basic rights people are born with, like life, freedom, and property.

Racial Supremacy

The belief that one race is better than all others.

Imperialism

When a country takes over other lands to build a big empire.

Suffrage

The right to vote in elections.

Louis XIV of France

A French king who ruled with total power and built the Palace of Versailles.

Spanish Armada

A large fleet of ships sent by Spain in 1588 to attack England, but it failed.

Versailles

A huge and fancy palace in France, built by King Louis XIV.

Peter the Great of Russia

A Russian tsar who tried to make Russia more modern like Europe.

James I of England

A king who believed strongly in ruling with total power and argued with Parliament.

Natural rights

Basic rights all people are born with, like life and freedom.

John Locke

Believed people have natural rights and that government should protect them.

Voltaire

Spoke out for freedom of speech and religion.

Adam Smith

Economist who supported capitalism and free markets.

Thomas Hobbes

Believed people need a strong ruler to keep order.

Montesquieu

Said power should be split into three parts (branches of government).

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Believed in the will of the people and that government should follow it.

Salon

A gathering where people talked about ideas, especially during the Enlightenment.

Stamp Act

British law that taxed printed materials in the American colonies.

Benjamin Franklin

American leader who helped with independence and the Constitution.

Bastille

A prison stormed during the French Revolution, symbol of royal power.

Guillotine

A device used to execute people by beheading during the French Revolution.

George Washington

Led the American army and became the first U.S. president.

Thomas Jefferson

Wrote the Declaration of Independence.

Reign of Terror

A time during the French Revolution when many people were executed.

Napoleon

French military leader who became emperor and expanded French power.

Waterloo

Battle where Napoleon was defeated for the last time.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the U.S. should expand across North America.

Monroe Doctrine

U.S. policy saying Europe should not interfere in the Americas.

Mestizo

A person of mixed Native American and European ancestry.

Mulatto

A person of mixed African and European ancestry.

Creole

People of European descent born in the Americas.

peninsular

People born in Spain living in Latin America.

Simon Bolivar

Leader who helped South American countries gain independence.

Otto von Bismarck

United Germany using war and politics.

Giuseppe Garibaldi

Helped unify Italy.

Queen Victoria

Queen of Britain during a time of empire and industrial growth.

Imperialism

When strong countries take over weaker ones.

Colonialism

When a country controls land in another place for power and profit.

Opium War

War between Britain and China over drug trade and trade rights.

Line of Demarcation

A line set by the Pope dividing land between Spain and Portugal.

Enclosure

Combining small farms into larger ones, forcing poor farmers to move.

Thomas Malthus

Said population grows faster than food supply, leading to problems.

Charles Darwin

Scientist who explained evolution and natural selection.

James Watt

Improved the steam engine, which powered factories.

Karl Marx

Believed workers should rise up and create a classless society.

Archduke Ferdinand

His assassination started World War I.

Lusitania

A ship sunk by Germany that made the U.S. closer to joining WWI.

Trench warfare

Fighting from ditches; made the war slow and deadly.

Treaty of Versailles

Peace treaty that ended WWI and punished Germany.

League of Nations

A group of countries formed after WWI to keep peace (but it failed to stop WWII).

Bolshevik

A group of revolutionaries in Russia who took over the government and started communism.

Stalin

A harsh dictator who ruled the Soviet Union with total control for many years.

Fascism

A system where the government has total control, led by a dictator, and people have few freedoms.

Nazism

A type of fascism from Germany under Hitler, based on racism and extreme nationalism.

Axis

The countries that fought together in WWII: Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Winston Churchill

British leader during WWII who helped lead the fight against the Axis.

Hiroshima

Japanese city destroyed by the first atomic bomb dropped by the U.S. in WWII.

Benito Mussolini

Dictator of Italy who started fascism and joined Hitler in WWII.

Adolf Hitler

Nazi leader of Germany during WWII, responsible for starting the war and the Holocaust.

Allies

The countries that fought against the Axis in WWII, including the U.S., Britain, and the Soviet Union.

Holocaust

The mass murder of 6 million Jews and others by the Nazis during WWII.

United Nations (UN)

An international group formed after WWII to help countries work together and keep peace.

Constitution (U.S.)

The main law of the U.S. government that explains how it works and protects people's rights.

Three coequal branches of government

The government is split into Legislative (makes laws), Executive (carries out laws), and Judicial (judges laws) — all have equal power.

System of checks and balances

Each branch of government can limit the others so no one gets too powerful.

Houses of Congress

The two parts of the legislative branch: the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Line of succession to Presidential power

The order of who takes over if the president dies or can’t lead (e.g., Vice President, Speaker of the House).

Supreme Court

The highest court in the U.S. that decides if laws are fair or go against the Constitution.