APWH Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards for APWH review.

Absolute Monarchy

A government having a hereditary chief of state with life tenure and powers varying from nominal to absolute

Agricultural Revolution

The period when societies transitioned from foraging to farming, leading to significant changes in lifestyle and social organization.

Agriculture

The science, art, or occupation of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock

Anarchy

The condition of a society without a government

Animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and life

Apartheid

Laws (no longer in effect) in South Africa that physically separated different races into different geographic areas; promoted segregation.

Aristocracy

A government in which power is exercised by a minority, especially of those felt to be best qualified

Autocracy

Government in which one person possesses unlimited power

Balkanization

Process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities

Balkanized States

A small geographic area that could not successfully be organized into one or more stable states because it was inhabited by many ethnicities with complex, long-standing antagonisms toward each other

Barter

To trade one commodity directly for another without the use of money

Buddhism

The teaching of Siddhartma Guatama that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct and wisdom and meditation releases one from desire and suffering and rebirth; it is a major universalizing religion.

Bureaucracy

A system of government where important decisions are made by state officials rather than elected representatives.

Capital

The value of such goods

Capitalism

An economic system in which natural resources and means of production are privately owned, investments are determined by private decision rather than by state control, and prices, production, and the distribution of goods are determined mainly by competition in a free market

Caste system

A social structure where classes are determined by heredity.

Christianity

A monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as embodied in the New Testament, emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and peoples between the Old World (Europe, Africa, and Asia) and the New World (the Americas) following Christopher Columbus's voyages in 1492.

Command Economy

Governments own the factors of production such as land, capital, and resources

Communism

A theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state

Comparative Advantage

The ability of an individual, firm, or country to produce a good or service at a lower opportunity cost than other producers.

Conflict

A clashing or sharp disagreement (as between ideas, interests, or purposes)

Confucianism

Developed by earlier Chinese man Confucius, it's a complex system of moral, social, political, and religious thought

Constitutional Monarchy

A King or Queen is the official head of state but power is limited by a constitution.

Corroborate

To confirm or support with evidence; to strengthen with supporting facts.

Cultural Convergence (Acculturation)

Tendency for cultures to become more alike as they increasingly share technology and organizational structures in a modern world united by improved transportation and communication

Cultural Diffusion

Is the spread of cultural beliefs and social activities from one group of people to another; through this spread horizons are broadened and people become more culturally rich

Cultural Divergence

The restriction of a culture from outside cultural influences

Cultural Hearth

Here civilization first began. These are the sites for the creation of customs, innovations, and ideologies that changed the world.

Culture

The behaviors and belied characteristics of a particular group

Democracy

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them

Democratic Socialism

A socialist form of government that guarantees civil liberties such as freedom of speech and religion. Citizens determine the extent of government activity through free elections and competitive political parties.

Demography

The study of patterns and rates of population change, including birth and death rates, migration trends, and evolving population distribution patterns; the scientific study of population characteristics

Developing Country

A nation where the average income is much lower than in industrial nations, where the economy relies on a few export crops, and where farming is conducted by primitive methods.

Dictatorship

A form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority.

Diffusion

The state of being spread out or transmitted especially by contact : the action of diffusing the diffusion of knowledge.

Doubling Time

The number of years it takes for an area's population to double

Economics

A social science concerned chiefly with description and analysis of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services

Enlightenment

A significant intellectual and philosophical movement that swept across Europe and beyond in the 17th and 18th centuries. It provided the foundation for many of the revolutionary movements and societal transformations.

Ethnicity

A group of people who share the same ANCESTORS, CULTURE, LANGUAGE, or RELIGION

European Union

Economic, scientific, & political organization consisting of multiple European countries.

Fascism

A political system headed by a dictator that calls for extreme nationalism and racism and no tolerance of opposition

Genocide

The deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group

Government

The exercise of authority over a political unit

Hinduism (Vedic)

Created in India with approximately one billion followers; Talks about Karma

Human Development Index (HDI)

Life expectancy index, Education index, Mean years of schooling index, Expected years of schooling index, Income index. Countries are ranked based on their score and split into categories that suggest how well developed they are

Industrial Revolution

A series of improvements in industrial technology that transformed the process of manufacturing goods and drastically altered society

Islam

Means the submission to the will of god. It's a monotheistic religion originating with the teachings of Muhammad, a key religious figure. It is the second largest religion in the world

Judaism

The religion of ancient Hebrews, said to be one of the first monotheistic faiths. Has its spiritual and ethical principles embodied chiefly in the Torah and in the Talmud

Landlocked

Confined to fresh water by some barrier

Life Expectancy

This simple statistic can be used as an indicator of the: healthcare quality in a country or province level of sanitation provision of care for the elderly

Major Population Clusters -- East Asia

1/4 global population: East China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan

Major Population Clusters-- South East Asia

600 million people: Indonesia, Philippines, and the river deltas of the Indochina peninsula

Major Population Clusters---South Asia

1/4 of global population: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka

Mandate of Heaven

A central Chinese philosophical and political concept that legitimized the rule of the king or emperor of China; Heaven granted the ruler the right to rule based on their virtuous governance and concern for the people's well-being.

Market Economy

Utilize private ownership of the means of production and voluntary exchanges/contracts

Marxism (Traditional Communism)

The political, economic, and social doctrines developed by Karl Marx that provide the basis for Marxian socialism and much of modern Communism

Means of Production

The facilities and resources for producing goods.

Militarism

The belief that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests; emphasizes military power above diplomatic solutions.

Mixed Economy

Variously defined as an economic system blending elements of market economies with elements of planned economies, free markets with state interventionism, or private enterprise with public enterprise

Money

Something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment

Monotheism

Belief in only one god

Nation

A community of people composed of one or more nationalities with its own territory and government

Nation-State

Sovereign state inhabited by a relatively homogeneous group of people who share a feeling of common nationality

Nationalism

Loyalty and devotion to a nation especially as expressed by praise of one nation above all others and intense concern with promotion of its culture and interests

Nationality

Identity with a group of people who share legal ATTACHMENT and personal ALLEGIANCE TO A COUNTRY

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949.

Oligarchy

A small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution.

Pandemic

Disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects a very high proportion of the population

Patriotism

Love for or devotion to one's country

Physical Geography

The branch of geography concerned with natural features and phenomena of the earth's surface, as landforms, drainage features, climates, soils, and vegetation.

Physiological Density

The number of people per unit of area of arable land, which is land suitable for agriculture

Polytheistic Religion

Belief in multiple gods

Proselytic Religion

Referred to as a Universalizing Religion, which is an attempt to be global, to appeal to all people, wherever they may live in the world, not just to those of one culture or location. There are three religions that practice this they are Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.

Protestant

A Christian denying the universal authority of the Pope and affirming the Reformation principles of justification by faith, the priesthood of all believers, and the primacy of the Bible

Race

Traits that can be PASSED GENETICALLY from parents to children (ex. skin color)

Region

An area or division, especially part of a country or the world having definable characteristics but not always fixed boundaries.

Religious Cultural Hearth

Where most religions are born. Most major religions have come from the Middle East near Israel, but a few have come from India too

Republic

A form of government wherein the people elect representatives to govern them and make laws.

Revolution

A significant and often violent transformation that leads to the overthrow of a government or political system, resulting in fundamental changes to social, economic, and political structures.

Sect

A religious denomination

Secularism

Indifference to or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations

Shamanism

A religion practiced by indigenous peoples of far northern Europe and Siberia that is marked by belief in gods, demons, and ancestral spirits responsive only to the shamans

Shia

The Muslims of the branch of Islam comprising sects believing in Ali and the imams as the only rightful successors of Muhammad and in the concealment and messianic return of the last recognized imam

Shinto

A religion of Japan consisting chiefly in the reverence of the spirits of natural forces, emperors, and heroes

Sikhism

A belief system which blends Hindu traditions with Islamic monotheistic traditions that's based in India and Pakistan

Socialism

A stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done

Sovereignty

The ability of the state to carry out actions of policies within its borders independently from interference either from the inside or the outside

Standard of living

Goods and services and their distribution within a population

State

Of or relating to a national state or to one of the units which make up a federal government

Stateless Nation

A nationality that is not represented by a state

Subsistence Economy

A type of economy in which human groups live off the land with little or no surplus

Sunni

The Muslims of the branch of Islam that adheres to the orthodox tradition and acknowledges the first four caliphs as rightful successors of Muhammad

Supply

The quantity or amount (as of a commodity) needed or available

Taxation

The mandatory financial charges imposed by a government on individuals or entities to fund public services and government operations.

Theocracy

A system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god.

Totalitarianism (Authoritarianism)

A form of government in which the political leader/s control all aspects of life. Characteristics include censorship; lack of individuality; no political opposition; and no freedom of speech.

United Nations

International territory; a small area in New York City in central Manhattan; seat of permanent headquarters of the United Nations

Urban Sprawl

Development of new housing outside more dense sections of an urban area

Urbanization

Increase in the percentage and number of people living in cities.