Global History & Geography Regents Review Packet

Flashcards for Global History & Geography Regents Review

Primary Source

A firsthand record of a historical event created by an eyewitness who actually experienced the event.

Secondary Source

A secondhand record of a historical event created by a person who did NOT actually experience the event.

The Enlightenment

The period in European history when reason (logic) was used to understand and improve society.

natural law

Universal rules that are always true; enlightenment philosophers believed that society could be improved by using reason and __.

John Locke

Philosopher who believed that all people have natural rights (the right to life, liberty, and property) and that people have the right to overthrow governments that fail to protect these rights.

Baron de Montesquieu

Philosopher who believed that power in government should be divided into three branches (executive, legislative, judicial) so that there is a separation of powers and a system of checks and balances.

Voltaire

Philosopher who believed that everyone is entitled to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Rousseau

Philosopher who believed that society is a social contract (an agreement in which all people agree to work for the common good of society).

political revolution

Event in which the people of a country overthrow an existing government and create a new government.

The French Revolution

Event in which the people of France overthrew their king (Louis XVI) and fought for more rights.

Declaration of the Rights of Man

Document written during the French Revolution that gave equal rights to the men of France and created a fair system of taxation.

Reign of Terror

Event where the leaders of the French Revolution executed thousands of people that they believed were loyal to the king.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Ended up being defeated in 1812, after invading Russia during the winter.

The Latin American Revolutions

Events where the colonies of Latin America fought to gain independence from Spain, Portugal, and France.

The Industrial Revolution

The change from producing goods by hand to producing goods with machines in factories.

Urbanization

The growth of cities. People came to urban areas to get jobs in factories.

Labor Unions

Organizations of workers that fought to improve the pay and working conditions of workers.

Laissez Faire Capitalism

Economic system that was used during the Industrial Revolution where businesses and factories should be owned by individuals NOT the government.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Two men who believed that laissez faire capitalism was bad and wrote a book called the 'Communist Manifesto'.

Nationalism

A feeling of love, loyalty, and devotion to one’s country.

Otto von Bismarck

Used a “blood and iron” policy (3 wars) to unify German lands.

Great Britain (England)

Took over Ireland in 1801.

Imperialism

Referred to as colonization, when a strong country conquers and takes over a weaker country. The area that is taken over is known as a colony.

Sepoy Mutiny

Rebellion in which India tried (but failed) to gain independence from Great Britain (England).

Boxer Rebellion

Rebellion in which China tried (but failed) to gain independence from the various European (Western) nations that controlled them.

Meiji Restoration

The period in Japanese history when Japan was ruled by Emperor Meiji and began a rapid program of modernization and westernization.

World War I

A global military conflict that was fought mainly in Europe.

Treaty of Versailles

Treaty that ended World War I, which severely punished Germany.

self-determination

The right of ethnic groups to create their own governments; Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire were broken apart in order to provide the people of Eastern Europe with this.

genocide

The attempted extermination of an entire ethnic group.

The Russian Revolution (Bolshevik Revolution)

Event where the people of Russia overthrew their Czar (king) and created a new government.

Bolsheviks

The radical group that was leading the Russian Revolution.

Vladimir Lenin

The leader of the Bolsheviks who promised to provide them with “Peace, Land, and Bread.”

Zionism

Name for the nationalist movement of Jews.

Mohandas Gandhi

Leader of India who fought for independence from Britain using only non-violent methods (also called civil disobedience or passive resistance).

Totalitarian dictatorships

Governments where one ruler has complete control over ALL aspects of life within a country.

Command (or Communist) economy

Economic system where the government (instead of individuals) owns businesses, makes business decisions, and sets prices.

Five-Year Plans

Stalin tried to modernize the industry (factories) and agriculture (farms) of the Soviet Union by setting economic goals every five years.

Collectivization

Stalin took over the individual farms that people owned and forced people to live on large government farms that were owned by the government.

World War II

The second major global conflict of the twentieth century.

Appeasement

Policy where an aggressive nation is given what they want by other nations in order to avoid war.

League of Nations

International organization created after World War I in order to prevent war that failed to stop Hitler, Mussolini, or Japan from being aggressive.

Invasion of Poland

The event that started WWII, where Poland was quickly defeated by Germany because Poland lacks natural boundaries.

Pearl Harbor

Event in which Japan launched a surprise attack against the United States, which brought the U.S. into World War II.

The United Nations

Organization that was created after World War II in order to solve international problems (like poverty and disease) and prevent future wars.

Declaration of Human Rights

Document created by the United Nations that lists the rights that ALL people should have within their nations.

Nuremberg Trials

The court case where the surviving Nazis who helped Hitler carry out the Holocaust were put on trial.

The Cold War

A 50 year struggle between the United States (a democratic nation) and the Soviet Union (a communist nation) after World War II.

Iron Curtain

Term used by Winston Churchill to describe the imaginary line dividing the democratic countries of Western Europe from the communist countries of Eastern Europe.

Containment

The policy used by the United States in which it attempted to stop the spread of communism.

Berlin Wall

Concrete wall built by the Communists around the city of West Berlin to prevent people in East Germany from fleeing to West Germany.

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

Military alliance between the United States, Canada, and the democratic nations of Western Europe.

Warsaw Pact

Military alliance between the Soviet Union and the other Communist nations of Eastern Europe.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Ended when the Soviet Union agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba.

European Union (E.U.)

An organization that now includes 27 countries in Europe that have decreased tariffs (taxes) and now use a single form of currency (money) called 'The Euro'.

North American Free Trade Agreement (N.A.F.T.A.)

An organization that includes the United States, Canada, and Mexico, that by decreasing tariffs (taxes), has increased trade between the 3 main countries of North America

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (O.P.E.C.)

Determines the price of oil as well as production levels (i.e.- the amount of oil available to other countries).

Mao Zedong

The first Communist dictator of China who gained the support of peasants because he promised to provide them with their own land once the Communists were brought to power.

Tiananmen Square Protests/Massacre (1989)

Series of protests where the Chinese peacefully demanded democratic reforms (changes).

Decolonization

The period after World War II in which the nations of Africa and Asia finally gained independence (self-government) from the European (Western) nations that controlled them.

Apartheid

Established a system of racial segregation in South Africa from 1948 until 1990.

Nelson Mandela

Became the first black president of South Africa after apartheid officially came to an end in 1990.

Ho Chi Minh

Nationalist leader who led an 8-year war against France to gain independence for Vietnam.

Pol Pot

The leader of the Khmer Rouge and ruler of Cambodia from 1976-1979 who was a brutal dictator who denied his people of human rights and executed 2 million people within his nation.

Iranian Revolution (1979)

Brought Ayatollah Khomeini (an Islamic religious leader) to power and is still a theocracy (a country that is ruled by religious leaders.

Mikhail Gorbachev

The Soviet leader who helped bring an end to Communism in the Soviet Union and changed the economy of the Soviet Union.

Glasnost

Was a program in Gorbachev allowed freedom of speech within the Soviet Union, which was a major step towards democracy in the Soviet Union.

Slobodan Milosevic

Was the Serbian ruler of Yugoslavia who violently attacked non-Serbs (especially Albanians) living in his lands.

Traditional Economy

Is based on barter (trade without using money) and subsistence agriculture (farming in which the crops are used only to feed the farmer and his family).

Market Economy

Individuals (NOT the government) own businesses and make economic decisions.

Ozone Layer

Is the small layer of gases in the atmosphere that absorbs the sun’s ultraviolet rays and protects us from skin cancer and is currently being destroyed by chemicals due to pollution.

Chernobyl

Nucleas disaster that in Ukraine in 1986, where thousands were exposed to radiation/cancer.

Green Revolution

Refers to the use of technology to increase the food supply (began in the 1960s).

Nuclear proliferation

Refers to the spread of nuclear technology to countries that do not currently possess them.