SS Midterm



Sociologists & Thinkers

  • Karl Marx – 1818-1883 philosopher and economist who developed the theory of Marxism, critiquing capitalism as inherently exploitative and advocating for a classless, communist society. Wrote The Communist Manifesto (1848), which called upon the proletariat to unite, and Das Kapital, a detailed critique of political economy.

  • Emile Durkheim – 1858-1917 French sociologist who established sociology as an academic discipline; known for studying social integration, solidarity (mechanical and organic), and anomie (a state of normlessness or societal breakdown). Wrote The Division of Labor in Society (1893) and Suicide (1897).

  • Max Weber – 1864-1920 German sociologist known for his work on bureaucracy, types of authority (traditional, charismatic, legal-rational), and the “Protestant work ethic” as a driver of capitalism. Also wrote Economy and Society and Politics as a Vocation.

  • W.E.B. DuBois – 1868-1963 African American sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist; co-founder of the NAACP and author of The Souls of Black Folk (1903), which introduced the concept of "double consciousness."

Industrialization & Economics

  • Industrial Revolution – A period of major industrialization (c. 1760-1914) marked by the growth of factories, rapid urbanization, and mechanized production, leading to profound societal and economic transformations.

  • 1st Industrial Revolution – (c. 1760–1870) Focused on textiles (e.g., spinning jenny, power loom), coal, steam power (e.g., Watt's steam engine), and iron production, primarily in Britain. Led to the factory system.

  • 2nd Industrial Revolution – (1870-1914) Focused on steel (Bessemer process), oil, electricity, chemicals, and mass production (e.g., assembly line). Key inventions included the internal combustion engine, telephone, and incandescent light bulb.

  • Enclosure – The process in England where common agricultural lands were consolidated into private holdings, often displacing peasants and forcing them to seek work in burgeoning industrial cities.

  • Classical Liberalism – Political ideology emphasizing individual freedoms, limited government intervention, and natural rights (life, liberty, property). Associated with thinkers like John Locke, Adam Smith, and Thomas Jefferson. Its principles are reflected in documents like the American Declaration of Independence.

  • Economic Liberalism – Belief in free markets, laissez-faire policies, and minimal government intervention in economic affairs, promoting competition and private enterprise.

  • Political Liberalism – Focuses on individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, rule of law, and equal protection under the law. Exemplified by the US Bill of Rights.

  • Utilitarianism – Ethical theory developed by Jeremy Bentham and refined by John Stuart Mill, arguing that actions are right if they promote the greatest happiness or utility for the greatest number of people, even if it entails some cost, as long as the net benefit is greater.

Government & Political Terms

  • State – An organized political community with a defined territory, a permanent population, and an effective government capable of exercising sovereignty. Represents the physical and institutional structure (e.g., a Kingdom, an Empire).

  • Regime – The fundamental rules, norms, and institutions that govern how power is structured and exercised within a state, including how leaders are selected and how decisions are made (e.g., Hereditary Monarchy, Democracy, Military Junta).

  • Government – The specific group of people or administration in power at a particular time, responsible for governing a nation, state, or community (e.g., the Biden Administration, the current UK Cabinet).

  • Race/Racial Group – Socially constructed categories based on perceived physical traits (e.g., skin color, hair texture) that are often used to classify and hierarchize groups within a society.

  • Ethnicity/Ethnic Group – Shared cultural traits, heritage, language, religion, or national origin that differentiate one group from another.

  • Nationality/Nation – A group of people who share a common history, culture, language, and a sense of collective identity, often aspiring to or occupying a distinct territory.

  • Nationalism – Strong identification with one’s nation, often placing its interests, culture, and goals above those of other nations or groups.

  • Civic/Liberal Nationalism – Nationalism based on shared values, laws, citizenship, and political ideals rather than common descent. Emphasizes loyalty to the state's liberal principles (e.g., American Revolution).

  • Ethnic/Romantic Nationalism – Nationalism based on a shared ethnicity, common culture, language, or historical lineage, often leading to a desire for self-determination for that specific group (e.g., French Revolution initially, later many 19th-century European nationalist movements).

European Politics & Imperialism

  • Napoleon Bonaparte – French military leader who rose to power during the French Revolution; became Emperor of the French (1804–1815), spreading revolutionary and nationalist ideals across Europe. Defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

  • Self-determination – The right of a people to freely determine their own political status, choose their own form of government, and pursue their own economic, social, and cultural development without external interference.

  • Nation-State – A sovereign state whose citizens or subjects are relatively homogeneous in factors like common identity, culture, language, or descent, leading to a strong sense of national unity.

  • Otto Von Bismarck – 19th-century Prussian statesman who, as Chancellor, unified Germany through a series of wars based on his policy of “realpolitik” (practical rather than ideological politics). Orchestrated wars against Denmark, Austria, and France to create a united German Empire in 1871. Convened the Berlin Conference to assert Germany's new global standing.

  • Berlin Conference – 1884–85 meeting of European powers in Berlin where they formalized rules for the colonization and partition of Africa, dividing the continent among themselves without any African representation or input, exacerbating future conflicts.

  • Liberia – African nation founded by freed American slaves in 1822 with support from the American Colonization Society; declared independence in 1847, serving as a symbol of self-governance for freed slaves.

  • White Man’s Burden – An imperialist concept, popularized by Rudyard Kipling's 1899 poem, asserting that Europeans had a moral duty to civilize, Christianize, and commercialize “lesser” peoples around the world, justifying colonial expansion.

Slavery, Civil War & Reconstruction

  • Slave Codes – A set of laws enacted predominantly in the Southern United States from the 17th to 19th centuries that defined the status of slaves as property, severely restricted their rights, and codified the rights and powers of masters. Nine of the original 13 states formally adopted comprehensive slave codes.

  • US Civil War – 1861–1865 conflict between the Northern states (Union) and the Southern states (Confederacy), primarily over the issues of slavery, states' rights, and federal power. Resulted in the abolition of slavery and preservation of the Union.

  • Andrew Jackson – 7th U.S. President (1829–1837); known for his populist appeal, expansion of presidential power, and the controversial Indian Removal Act, which led to the forced displacement of Native American tribes.

  • Trail of Tears – The brutal forced relocation of approximately 100,000 Native Americans from their ancestral lands in the southeastern United States to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) during the 1830s, notably the Cherokee Nation, resulting in thousands of deaths.

  • Underground Railroad – A clandestine network of safe houses and routes spanning the southern United States to Canada, organized by abolitionists and freed slaves, which helped enslaved African Americans escape to freedom during the 19th century.

  • William H. Seward – U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson; a strong anti-slavery advocate prior to the Civil War, and known for negotiating the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 ("Seward's Folly").

  • Dred Scott v. Sandford – 1857 Supreme Court case ruling that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be American citizens and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court. It also declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, asserting that Congress could not ban slavery in U.S. territories, significantly escalating sectional tensions.

  • Bleeding Kansas – A series of violent political confrontations in the Kansas Territory between 1854 and 1859 involving anti-slavery "Free-Staters" and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements. It symbolized the intense struggle over whether Kansas would enter the Union as a free or slave state.

  • Abraham Lincoln – 16th U.S. President (1861–1865) who led the country during the Civil War, preserving the Union and issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. Assassinated shortly after the war's end.

  • Frederick Douglass – Former slave, prominent abolitionist leader, orator, writer, and statesman. His powerful autobiography and speeches advocated for emancipation and civil rights for African Americans.

  • Emancipation Proclamation – Issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declaring all enslaved persons in Confederate-held states to be free, transforming the Union's fight from preserving the Union to a war for human liberty.

  • Ulysses S. Grant – Union general during the Civil War, leading the Union Army to victory. Later served as the 18th U.S. President (1869–1877), introducing radical reconstruction efforts to protect the rights of freed slaves in the South.

  • Reconstruction – The period after the Civil War (1865–1877) focused on rebuilding the Confederate states, politically reintegrating them into the Union, and integrating nearly 4 million newly freed slaves into American society, though efforts faced significant challenges and ultimately failed to secure full equality.

  • Freedman’s Bureau – Officially the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, established in 1865 by Congress to help formerly enslaved African Americans and poor whites in the South during Reconstruction. It provided food, housing, medical aid, schools, and legal assistance.

  • Plessy v. Ferguson – 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal," providing legal justification for Jim Crow laws for decades.

  • Reparations – The act of making amends for a wrong, especially by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged. Often discussed in the context of historical injustices, such as slavery and its lasting effects.

African American Leaders & Movements

  • Booker T. Washington – African American educator, author, and political leader. He advocated for vocational training and economic self-sufficiency for Black Americans, often through accommodation with segregation, believing that economic power would eventually lead to civil rights. Founded the Tuskegee Institute.

  • Ida B. Wells – Influential African American journalist, activist, and early leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Known for her fearless anti-lynching campaigns and advocacy for women's suffrage. Co-founder of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).

  • Affirmative Action – Policies designed to address past and present discrimination by promoting opportunities for historically marginalized groups, particularly in employment and education, to achieve a more equitable representation.

20th-Century Conflicts & Ideologies

  • World War I – Global war (1914–1918) primarily fought in Europe, triggered by a complex interplay of Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism (MAIN causes), leading to unprecedented levels of destruction and reshaping the global political order.

  • Political Realism – A foreign policy theory that prioritizes national interest, state security, and power dynamics over ideology, ethics, or moral considerations in international relations.

  • Balance of Power – A system in international relations where states act to prevent any one country or bloc from becoming too powerful and dominating others, often through alliances or counter-alliances to maintain stability.

  • Tsar Nicholas II – The last Emperor of Russia, reigning from 1894 until his forced abdication in March 1917 during the Russian Revolution. His ineffective rule and Russia's poor performance in WWI contributed to widespread unrest.

  • Socialism – An economic and political system where the means of production, distribution, and exchange are owned or regulated by the community as a whole or by the state, aiming for greater social and economic equality.

  • Communism – A revolutionary political and economic ideology, based on the theories of Karl Marx, advocating for a classless, stateless society with common ownership of the means of production and resources. Historically implemented through totalitarian regimes.

  • Marxism – The extensive sociological, economic, and political theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels; critiques capitalism and advocates for a historical materialist understanding of society, predicting a revolutionary transition to socialism and then communism.

  • Leninism – An adaptation and development of Marxism by Vladimir Lenin, emphasizing the necessity of a disciplined, revolutionary vanguard party to lead the proletariat in overthrowing capitalism and establishing a dictatorship of the proletariat, as demonstrated by the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.

  • Totalitarianism – A political system where the state exercises absolute, centralized control over all aspects of public and private life, suppressing dissent and individual freedoms through propaganda, surveillance, and often terror (e.g., Nazi Germany under Hitler, Soviet Union under Stalin).

  • Corporatism/Corporativism – A political or economic system where major interest groups (e.g., business associations, labor unions, agricultural groups) are formally integrated into the state's decision-making process, often through compulsory membership and state recognition.

  • Fascism – A far-right, authoritarian ultra-nationalist political ideology characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, strong regimentation of society and economy, and often a glorification of the nation and race (e.g., Italy under Mussolini, Germany under Hitler).

  • Benito Mussolini – Italian dictator and founder of Fascism; ruled Italy as Prime Minister from 1922 to 1943, establishing a totalitarian state and forming an alliance with Nazi Germany during WWII.

  • Adolf Hitler – Leader of the Nazi Party and dictator of Nazi Germany (1933–1945). His totalitarian regime initiated World War II in Europe and was responsible for the systematic genocide of approximately six million Jews, known as the Holocaust.

Modern Warfare & Culture

  • Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) – A nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of people or cause massive damage to property and infrastructure.

  • The War of the Worlds – A science fiction novel by H.G. Wells (1898) depicting an alien invasion of Earth; often seen to mirror Imperialism