PRAXIS- World History and Economics Flashcards | Quizlet

Neolithic (Agricultural) Revolution

The change from gathers model fro sustenance to an agrarian lifestyle. Loosely formed groups of people began farming and developing communities.

Mesopotamia

AKA the Fertile Cresent; a region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that developed the first urban societies; cuniform.

Sumerians

The people who dominated southern Mesopotamia through the end of the third millennium B.C.E. They were responsible for the creation of many fundamental elements of Mesopotamian culture-such as irrigation technology, cuneiform, and religious conceptions.

Cunieform

A system of writing with wedge-shaped symbols, invented by the Sumerians around 3000 B.C.

Sputnik

First artificial Earth satellite, it was launched by Moscow in 1957 and sparked U.S. fears of Soviet dominance in technology and outer space. It led to the creation of NASA and the space race.

John Locke

English philosopher who advocated the idea of a "social contract" in which government powers are derived from the consent of the governed and in which the government serves the people.

Thomas Hobbs

1651 Leviathan. People are selfish, self-serving, and brutal. Without control, society would be chaotic.

The Middle Passage

A voyage that brought enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to North America and the West Indies.

The French Revolution

The revolution that began in 1789, overthrew the absolute monarchy, saw the rise of the middle class, and executed King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

In "Social Contract" he explained an ideal society where each community member would vote on issues and majority would become one law.

Simon Bolivar

1783-1830, Venezuelan statesman: leader of revolt of South American colonies against Spanish rule.

San Martin

Led the Latin American armies over the Andes Mtns. and into Chile. Fought for independence in Chile and Peru. Fought with Bolivar.

Hidalgo

Leader of the Mexican War of Independence.

Socialism

A system in which society, usually in the form of the government, owns and controls the means of production. There are no private business owners.

Communism

A form of socialism that abolishes private ownership. There is no private property.

Monopoly

A market in which there are many buyers but only one seller.

Oligopoly

A market structure in which a few large firms dominate a market.

Close-end credit

A loan for a specific amount that must be repaid, in full, including all finance charges, by a stated due date.

Law of demand

Consumers buy more of a good when its price decreases and less when its price increases.

Law of supply

Producers offer more of a good as its price increases and less as its price falls.

Equilibrium

A balance between supply and demand. Can only be reached in theory.

Elasticity

The degree in which consumers change their demand and producers change their supply in response to changes in price or income.

Embargo

An official ban on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country.

Eminent domain

The right of government to take private property for public use.

Command economic system

An economy where supply and price are regulated by the government rather than market forces.