Heavy Hitters for NYS Regents Exam

ANC (African National Congress)

A political party in South Africa formed to fight against apartheid and campaign for the rights of Black South Africans; famously led by Nelson Mandela.

Apartheid

The official system of legal racial segregation and discrimination enforced by the white-minority government in South Africa from 1948 to 1994.

Appeasement

A diplomatic policy of making political or material concessions to an aggressive power to avoid conflict; most famously used by Britain and France toward Adolf Hitler before WWII.

Arab Spring

A series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s, demanding democracy and economic reform. A

Atrocities

Extremely cruel, wicked, or brutal acts, typically involving physical violence or injury (genocides; war crimes)

Ayatollah Khomeini

An Iranian religious and political leader who led the 1979 Iranian Revolution, overthrew the Shah, and established Iran as an Islamic theocracy.

Balkan Peninsula

A region in southeastern Europe known as the “powder keg of Europe” before WWI due to its intense nationalism and ethnic tensions that threatened to boil over into war. Ber

Berlin Conference

A meeting (1884-1885) where European empires negotiated and formalized claims to African territory, leading to the “Scramble for Africa” without input from African leaders.

Blitzkrieg

“Lightning war”; a military tactic used by Germany in WWII characterized by fast, surprise attacks using tanks, infantry, and air support to quickly overwhelm the enemy.

Blood and Iron

The title of a speech by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, representing his policy of using military force and industry rather than diplomacy to unify Germany.

Bolshevik Revolution

The 1917 Marxist Revolution in Russia led by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks, which overthrew the provisional government and established the world’s first communist state.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership of capital and goods, where production and prices are determined by competition in a free market.

Class Struggle

The conflict of interests between different social classes, specifically between the bourgeoisie (owners) and the proletariat (workers), which Karl Marx identified as the driving force of history.

Climate Change/Global Warming

The long-term shift in global temperatures and weather patterns, primarily driven by human activities like burning fossil fuels.

Cold War

A period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union (and their respective allies) after WWII, characterized by ideological conflict, proxy wars, and the nuclear arms race, but no direct military conflict between the superpowers.

Command Economy

An economic system in which the government controls and makes all decisions regarding the production, distribution, and pricing of goods and services (common in communist states).

Communism

A political and economic ideology advocating for a classless society in which all property and wealth are communally owned, and the state withers away.

Communist Manifesto

A political pamphlet written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848, laying out the principles of communism and calling for a working-class revolution.

Congress of Vienna

A conference of European ambassadors held from 1814 to 1815 with the goal of restoring a balance of power and traditional monarchies in Europe after the defeat of Napoleon.

Containment

A United States foreign policy doctrine adopted during the Cold War aimed at preventing the global spread of communism.

Cultural Revolution

A sociopolitical movement in China from 1966 to 1976 launched by Mao Zedong, to purge capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society and re-impose Maoist orthodoxy.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

A fundamental document of the French Revolution (1789) that defined individual and collective rights as universal across all estates. E

Estates/”Old Regime”

The political and social system of the Kingdom of France before the French Revolution which divided society into three rigid classes (Estates), leaving the heavily taxed Third Estate with little power.

European Union (EU)

A political and economic union of European countries formed to promote economic cooperation, free trade, and peace across the continent.

Fascism

A far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and the economy (N*zi Germany or Fascist Italy)

Five-Year Plan