Comprehensive Social Studies & Geography Review

Vocabulary flashcards cover key historical terms, geographic concepts, major events, and political ideas drawn from the lecture notes to aid comprehensive exam review.

Latitude

Distance measured north or south of the Equator.

Longitude

Distance measured east or west of the Prime Meridian.

Mercator Map Projection

Cylindrical projection that is accurate at the Equator but increasingly distorted toward the poles.

Robinson Map Projection

Oval-shaped world map with reduced polar distortion but slight distortion everywhere.

Orthographic Map Projection

Projection showing one hemisphere on a circular surface tangent to the globe.

Conic Map Projection

Projection created by placing a cone over the globe; accurate along standard parallels.

Polar Map Projection

Circular projection centered on a pole with minimal high-latitude distortion.

Azimuthal Map

Map projection that preserves true directions from a central point.

Conformal Map

Map that keeps shapes accurate, though area may be distorted.

Equal-Area Map

Map that preserves the true sizes of areas.

Gnomonic Projection

Projection on which great-circle (shortest) routes appear as straight lines.

Lower Paleolithic

Earliest Stone Age when hominins first made crude stone tools (~2–3 million years ago).

Upper Paleolithic

Later Stone Age marked by advanced tools, art, group organization (~300,000 BC).

Neolithic

Late Stone Age period of agriculture, animal domestication, weaving, and complex society (~40,000 BC).

Bronze Age

Era beginning about 3000 BC when metalworking with bronze emerged and early civilizations formed.

Iron Age

Period (~1200–1000 BC) when smelted iron tools replaced stone implements.

Fertile Crescent

Arc of fertile land in Southwest Asia & Mediterranean basin; cradle of early civilization.

Cuneiform

Wedge-shaped writing system developed by the Sumerians.

Hieroglyphics

Ancient Egyptian picture-symbol writing system.

Code of Hammurabi

Babylonian law code of 282 laws engraved on a stone stele.

Zoroastrianism

Ancient Persian monotheistic religion centered on the god Ahura Mazda.

Phoenician Alphabet

Phonetic script developed by Phoenicians; basis of Greek and Latin alphabets.

Indus Valley Civilization

Bronze Age urban culture known for city planning, drainage, and early concept of zero.

Longshan Black Pottery

Fine dark pottery produced by ancient Chinese Longshan culture.

Linear B

Syllabic script of Mycenaean Greece containing earliest written Greek.

Sparta

Militaristic oligarchic Greek city-state in the Peloponnesus.

Athens

Greek city-state famed for democracy, philosophy, and the arts.

Peloponnesian War

431–404 BCE conflict in which Sparta defeated Athens, weakening Greece overall.

Hellenistic Period

Era after Alexander the Great when Greek culture spread through the Near East.

Persian Wars

499–449 BCE wars in which Greek city-states repelled Persian invasions.

Battle of Marathon

490 BCE Greek victory over Persia during the First Persian War.

Battle of Thermopylae

480 BCE heroic Spartan stand delaying the Persians.

Battle of Salamis

480 BCE naval battle where outnumbered Greeks defeated the Persian fleet.

Battle of Plataea

479 BCE decisive Greek land victory ending Persian invasions.

Maurya Empire

322–185 BC Indian empire noted for economic standardization and Buddhist patronage.

Edicts of Ashoka

Stone pillars proclaiming Buddhist moral laws across the Mauryan Empire.

Roman Republic

509–27 BC Roman government ruled by elected consuls and a Senate.

Roman Empire

Autocratic phase of Rome starting 27 BC, spanning Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Byzantine Empire

Eastern continuation of Rome (330–1453 AD) centered at Constantinople.

Nicene Creed

325 AD statement defining core Christian beliefs and the Trinity.

Germanic Tribes

Groups like Visigoths & Vandals whose invasions helped topple Rome.

Feudalism

Medieval system of land tenure for military service between lords and vassals.

Crusades

11th-15th-century European religious wars to reclaim the Holy Land.

Ming Dynasty

Chinese dynasty (1368–1644) noted for strong central government and sea voyages.

Islam

Monotheistic faith founded by Muhammad; scripture is the Qur’an.

Sunni

Majority Islamic branch accepting first caliphs as rightful leaders.

Shia

Islamic branch holding leadership should descend from Muhammad’s family.

Ottoman Empire

Islamic empire that captured Constantinople in 1453; lasted to 1922.

Renaissance

14th-16th-century revival of classical learning and arts beginning in Italy.

Printing Press

Movable-type device invented by Gutenberg c. 1450 revolutionizing book production.

Protestant Reformation

16th-century movement challenging Catholic doctrine; began with Martin Luther.

Catholic Counter-Reformation

Catholic Church’s response reforming abuses and reaffirming doctrine.

Scientific Revolution

16th-17th-century shift to observation-based science and heliocentrism.

Heliocentrism

Model placing the Sun, not Earth, at the center of the solar system.

Enlightenment

18th-century intellectual movement stressing reason, liberty, and progress.

Social Contract

Rousseau’s concept that government exists by consent to protect rights.

French Revolution

1789–1799 uprising overthrowing French monarchy; led to Napoleon.

Industrial Revolution

18th-19th-century transition to mechanized manufacturing and factories.

Russo-Japanese War

1904–05 conflict in which Japan defeated Russia.

Bolshevik Revolution

1917 communist seizure of power in Russia led by Lenin.

Allied Powers (WWI)

Great Britain, France, Russia, later the US, Italy, Japan.

Central Powers

WWI coalition of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria.

Trench Warfare

WWI style of combat fought from long defensive trenches.

Battle of the Bulge

1944–45 last major German offensive of WWII, halted by Allies.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

1948 UN document listing fundamental freedoms and protections.

Nuremberg Trials

Post-WWII tribunals prosecuting Nazi leaders for war crimes.

United Nations

International organization founded 1945 to promote peace and cooperation.

Vietnam War

1954–1975 conflict pitting communist North Vietnam against US-backed South Vietnam.

Armenian Genocide

1915 Ottoman mass killing of Armenians (≈800 000–1.5 million deaths).

Rwandan Genocide

1994 mass slaughter of Tutsi by Hutu extremists in Rwanda.

Algonquian

Eastern Woodlands Native American language group living in wigwams.

Iroquois Confederacy

Alliance of northeastern tribes living in longhouses; famed for democracy.

Plains Tribes

Nomadic groups (Sioux, Cheyenne, etc.) following buffalo herds in teepees.

Pueblo Peoples

Southwestern tribes (Hopi, Zuni) living in adobe or stone dwellings.

Age of Exploration

15th–17th-century European era of oceanic discovery and colonization.

Navigation Acts

1651 English laws restricting colonial trade to English vessels.

Triangular Trade

Atlantic trade system exchanging slaves, raw materials, and manufactured goods.

Intolerable Acts

1774 British punitive laws after the Boston Tea Party.

First Continental Congress

1774 colonial assembly seeking repeal of Intolerable Acts.

Declaration of Independence

1776 document proclaiming American colonies’ freedom from Britain.

Articles of Confederation

America’s first constitution (1781–1789) with weak central authority.

Great Compromise

1787 agreement creating bicameral Congress with Senate & House.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Formula counting enslaved people as 3/5 of a person for representation.

Federalist Papers

Essays by Hamilton, Madison, Jay supporting Constitution ratification.

Alien and Sedition Acts

1798 laws restricting speech and immigration; targeted dissenters.

Louisiana Purchase

1803 US acquisition of French territory doubling nation’s size.

Monroe Doctrine

1823 policy opposing new European colonization in the Americas.

Manifest Destiny

19th-century belief that US was destined to span the continent.

Compromise of 1850

Package admitting California free and strengthening Fugitive Slave Law.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

1857 ruling that African Americans were not citizens and Missouri Compromise void.

Emancipation Proclamation

1863 Lincoln decree freeing slaves in Confederate territory.

13th Amendment

1865 constitutional abolition of slavery in the United States.

14th Amendment

1868 guarantee of citizenship and equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

1870 amendment prohibiting voting denial based on race or color.

Reconstruction Acts

1867 laws placing former Confederate states under military rule.

Homestead Strike

1892 violent labor dispute at Carnegie Steel near Pittsburgh.

Progressive Era

1890s–1920s movement for social, political, and economic reforms.

Muckraker

Progressive journalist exposing corruption (e.g., Upton Sinclair).

Spanish-American War

1898 conflict giving US control of Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines.

16th Amendment

1913 amendment authorizing federal income tax.