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Transcript of Social Studies Book
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Section 1: World History
Early Humanity
The study of the earliest humanity is considered prehistory because there is no written
evidence of their lifestyles. Archeologists discover primitive dwelling, cave drawing, skeletal
remains, and artifacts. Thus we know that where the earliest human communities existed.
Anthropologists have studies the artifacts --- items such as tools, weapons, and pottery --- and
have intensively researched bone fragments and fossil to uncover proofs about their different
periods of human development.
The earliest stage of cultural development has been classified as the Stone Age
because of the evidence that early human used stone tools. Stones were shaped as knives andspear points for hunting and defense and as tools, such as hammers, axes, and scrapers. Later,
people made stone and bone tools like needles, harpoons, fishhooks, and arrowheads. These
early people were nomadic---they had no permanent shelters and followed the herds of
animals that they hunted for survival.
Over time, many group of humans stopped their nomadic lifestyle to become hunters
and gathers in areas of abundant game, fresh water, and fertile soil. Early study shows that
they knew in what climate and soil are best suitable to plant crops. They knew how to
develop agriculture, work in the land, and domesticate animals.
After that, early human settled communities and practiced special skills or trades.
Commerce developed through bartering goods and services. As the basic communities grew,
a need for rules and organization also grew, so they formed government. A factor of
settlement was fear and lack of knowledge about the surrounding world. People explained the
natural phenomena as the religion form and developed traditions and beliefs.
Early HumansTools
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Early Civilization
Humanitys early technological advancement has been found in ancient Egyptian
civilization. Beginning about 5000 B.C., the Nile River Valley in northeast Africa. The
abundance of good harvests allowed for thriving communities to develop permanentsettlement and expansion with the support of the rulers and religious leaders. They directly
affected art, music, entertainment, technology, and science.
Ancient Egyptians are considered one of the most advanced of the early civilizations.
Their contributions to the world can be seen as in the gigantic statues of their gods, in pottery
and jewelry, in the ruins of their colossal pyramids and tombs, within language known as
hieroglyphics, and in the perfection of the mummification.
Civilizations Begins to Interact
The Middle East and the coastal regions of Mediterranean Sea, as well as the Nile
Delta, were the locations for the beginning of many early civilization. The closeness of each
civilization allowed for trade and also created competition for land and resources, which led
to many conflicts and wars between rival groups.
The classical civilizations that had the largest impact on the worlds cultural
development are the Greek and Roman empires. Greek civilization continued the Egypt
priorities of art, literature, music, theatre, architecture, and the sciences in Athens, a powerful
Greek city-state. All male citizens participated in the assembly, which determined laws and
policies.
During the golden age of ancient Greece (500 B.C. to 300 B.C.), many great
philosophers and educators such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle shared their wisdom with
the world. Olympic Games were begun to serve the beliefs of body and mind as an important
priority of society.
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Eventually, the Romans conquered the Greeks, copying their architecture, art forms,
poetry, and some of their mythological gods. Both civilizations had maintained the gods to
explain the natural phenomenon like seasonal changes, flooding and severe weather, and
successful in agriculture. While the Greeks believed in the fitness of body and mind, the
Romans were more interested in military strength and acquiring land for the empire. Wealth
and connections among family members determined position in the social classes within
Roman culture. This status determined if a member of the society was considered worthy of
having a vote. This system of government was called a republic. The lower class of slaves
and the common class of farmers and tradesmen were limited in their rights of marriage
partners and land ownership.
Area of the Greek and Roman Empires
Civilizations Develop Religions
During the expansion of Roman Empire, tribal people in Israel practiced Judaism
and believed in one god. They believed in the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. This new
religion was called Christianity which sooner affected the Western world; in the beliefs of
He (Jesus) was the Messiah that Jewish law had prophesied.After Jesus death, Christian ideas and beliefs were spread by the disciples. Then
Rome, the center of western civilization, became the center of the church, given Pope as the
king of the church leader, Bishop as regional leaders. Then, Christianity expanded all around
Europe in variety of methods, including religious wars. European Kings set the Crusade to
fight for the Holy Land against the Muslims. Then, Muslim Arabs followed the Islam,
founded by the prophet Mohammed. Later, Christians could not fight more because of the
falling of Rome Empire.
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Eastern Religions
HinduismAll men were created from different parts of body of god, in order to
do what they were born with caste system
BuddhismOnes soul will attain Nirvana, a divine state of free earthly ills, through
self-denial and correct living
ConfuciusA contemporary of Buddha, teaches social harmony and challenges
everyone to live under the moral codes of conduct (goal is harmony on earth, not a religion
a philosophy)
Beliefs of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucius (respectively)
The Middle Age and the Feudal System
Dark Age: after the fall of Roman Empire, in A.D. 476, the chaos happened in
Western Europe. Most population was illiterate. It is a time when art and literature and
architecture no longer flourished.
Feudal system: a well-defined system of classes or levels within society, based on the
beliefs that everyone had a place in society; there would be less conflict. The lord was
responsible to the kings estate so that the king would protect them (peasantstownspeople)
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from the invasion of the enemies which chivalry was the one who protect the peasants from
such hardship.
Economy of feudal system was very weak. Poor harvests led to famines. People were
too weak to fight off the infectious diseases that had spread throughout the trade route. In 14 th
century, the plague or the Black Death hit Europe; the bubonic plague caused by the
transmission of flees through town. Villages and cities had inadequate sewage system, which
totally enhanced the expansion of the plague. The plague has killed one-third of Europeans.
People left their lands causing the collapse of economy in Western Europe that took more
than 100 years to recover.
Vikings Invasion: The Vikings invaded England while it is facing the situation with
Roman Church. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, argued with King Henry II
over the supreme authorities of the King and the Church. John, son of Henry II, tried to settle
the problem that cased barons to pay higher taxes.
The Renaissance
A.D. 1400, in the late Middle Ages, Western Europe was becoming more stable, both
politically and economically. Many wealthy nobles and merchants were able to found cultural
pursuits such as music, art, and literature. This period of time is known as Renaissance, a
French word, and meaning rebirth. This was a time when wealthy patrons supported great
French and Italian artists, such as, Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci completed their
timeless masterpieces during the golden years of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
Great poets, writers, and inventors also flourished at this time.
Gutenberg Press, David (Michelangelo), Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci), andWilliam
Shakespeare
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America is Discovered
In 1492, while Spain was under the rule of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, the
Italian navigator Christopher Columbus received permission and support to find a faster trade
route to China and the East Indies. He believed that by sailing directly west, instead of south
around the Cape of Good Hope as other explorers had done, he would discover a more direct
route. It is because of this historic journey, during which he landed in an unknown
hemisphere, that we celebrate the discovery of America.
The Reformation Divides Christianity
In 1517, Catholic Church suffered a great upheaval when a German monk named
Martin Luther made a list of complaints against the church that caused the split inChristianity, Protestants. This Reformation gave local nobles the chance to stop the payment
of taxes to Rome and to seize local Roman Catholic land for themselves.
In 1529, King Henry VIII took control of the church in England, and by 1534 the Act
of Supremacy had given the king power over the English Church. And after Henry VIIIs
death, Bloody Mary tried to follow the Roman Church again. When she died, her Protestant
half-sister, Elizabeth I, became queen. During this time, Spain attempted to centralize power
over all Europe. The Netherlands in northern Europe had long been establishing itself as a
center of trade and banking. As the support of English who did not want to see the spread of
Catholic rule, the Dutch won their independence in 1581.
The Enlightenment
As the Renaissance was the period of focus on the arts, the period known as the
Enlightenment saw a new focus on science and technology. From the late 1500s and into the
1600s, scholars and early scientists began questioning humanitys place in nature as taught by
the Roman Catholic Church. It was at this time that Copernicus, Galileo, and Sir Isaac
Newton proposed new ideas about astronomy and physics. Later, in the late seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, philosophers and statesmen began questioning peoples role in society
in addition to the study of physical world. John Locke became very influential author who
wrote about the role that the individual played in society. Others, such as the writers Voltaire,
and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, argued that common sense, tolerance, and a natural belief that
human beings were good were needed to make a great society work.
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Galileos Telescope, Copernicus Solar System,and
Gravitational Theory of Sir Isaac Newton(respectively)
The French Revolution and Napoleon
In late-eighteenth-century France, social unrest existed between the aristocracy and
the impoverished citizenry. The citizens were angry and frustrated at the excessive lifestyle
of King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, while much of the country was poverty-
stricken. The people were also being exposed to the openness of thought expressed by
Voltaire and Rousseau. The Americans had successfully rebelled against the British
monarchy to win their independence, proving that monarchies could be resisted. Bastille was
symbolized as the oppression to the people of the aristocrats, both the king and the queen, as
well as hundred of aristocrats, were later beheaded.
Under the lack of effective leadership, people required a strong leader because the
new governing body, the Directorate, was weak and disorganized. Napoleon Bonaparte
whom people considered a war hero from many different successful wars established a new
government, known as the First Empire. Napoleon introduced a new system of laws that
became known as the Napoleonic Code. The code recognized that all male citizens were
equal under the law. It also allowed the people of France to participate in the religion of their
choice and to work in the occupation of their choice.
That same year, Napoleon declared himself emperor of France. He wanted to conquer
Europe, and his armies engaged the British in the west and in the Mediterranean, in addition
to the Austrians, Prussians, and Russians in the east. His downfall came in 1815 at the hands
of the British and their allies at the Battle of Waterloo, near Brussels, Belgium. Following
this disastrous defeat, the British banished Napoleon to the island of St. Helena, where he
died in 1821.
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The Industrial Revolution
Napoleon Bonaparte
In nineteenth-century Europe and the United States, changes continued to occur intechnology and the social order. This period is referred to as the Industrial Revolution.
Factories were built in the larger cities, with mechanized assembly lines for mass production
of goods. For the first time, a new working class was earning wages in factory jobs.
As the people in the United States and throughout most of Europe had achieved
independence from foreign rulers, each nation now had to face its own economic problem
and deal with the changes caused by the Industrial Revolution. Population moved from a
mostly rural existence to crowded cities where workers formed a large part of community.
The telegraph and telephone provided means of long distance communication which brought
people and communities closer together.
While the business leaders gained great wealth, they often did so at the expense of
poorly paid workers. German author Karl Marx wrote about the terrible working conditions
of the period and the flaws he saw in the capitalist system that created them. He believed that
capitalism would drag more workers into poverty.
Marx explained his ideas in a book called The Communist Manifesto which
influenced Vladimir Lenin and helped bring about the overthrow of the Russian czar in 1917.
Karl Marx and his book
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Section 2: U.S. History
A New Nation is Born
People assumed Christopher Columbus discovered America, some argued that
Leif Ericson, the Norwegian Viking, was first discovered and settled where nowadays
called Newfoundland.
American still celebrate on the second Monday in October, honors the heros mistake.
At first, Columbus was searching for shortcut from Spain in 1492, but then he landed in
Bahamas, thinking it was India. He died in 1506, without knowing it was America. After
the discovery, Amerigo Vespucci sailed to the new land and people started to called this area
America after Vespuccis name.
European began to expand their territories, making Spain controls south and central
America, France takes northern part and Canada, and England settles in the area between the
Spain and Frances territories.
The Original 13 Colonies
Early 13colonies
- French and Indians war fought over the land in the
northern and central part of North America
- English won in 1763
- English controls the land over the all the way of the
east coast of North America to the Mississippi River,
this was the first of 13 colonies
- King of England still takes control over the new born
colonies, appointing the leaders for each colony
- Each area brought its customs, religion, and dialects
- People were so poor as the colonists
- Pilgrims, Plymouth Colony, were helped by Native
American, teaching how to plant
- In 1621, first Thanksgiving began for the
successful harvest, reasoning for thanking for the
new opportunities and freedoms
- Chance to own the land, opening the economy, vast
expanse of land for farming
- Still took control and taxed colonists for what theylittle earned
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The Declaration of Independence
- After the French and Indian War, King George III made the colonists pay for the debt
of war.
- In 1765, the King and the English Parliament passed:
I. Stamp Actrequiring the colonist to have official document stamped by British,
paying for taxes
II. Townshend Actplacing large import taxes on glass, lead, and tea
- Colonists argued/ outraged/ protested English by dumping tea in Bostonhaving the
Boston Tea Party
- Colonist refused the Intolerable Acts the Act that sought for the authority of the
kingThe First Continental Congress or the 13 Colonies demanded the IntolerableActs to be replaced, considering to be treated fairly as all other English citizens
- King and the Parliament refused
- In 1775, the Second Continental Congress was announced, inspired by the pamphlet
of Thomas Paine called Common Sense
- *Thomas Jefferson drafted Declaration of Independence, needed a revolution by the
colonists had against the King George III, then approved as the National Day - July
4, 1776
The Beginning of American Government
Articles of Confederation
- Weaken the colonies
- Concerned only the sovereignty of each colony
- Limited the power of the central government (Trade Regulations and National
Defense)
- Constitution in May 1787 called Articles of Confederation in Philadelphia
Early Domestic and Foreign Policy
- the geographical expansion
- Because many people still wanted to be like English, pro-British federalists were
expelled, known as the British blockage in 1812-1814, US knew how to
manufacture its own products.
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Prelude to War
In 1850s, all the land that is now todays continental United States was under the
control of the federal government. Sectionalism is the idea of citizens seemed more loyal to
their own region that to the Union as a whole.
Tariffs (or taxes on goods imposed into the country) were viewed differently by
certain regions as unequal and unfair. South and west people thought the tariffs were harder
than those northerners because people in the north were a manufacturing society. In contrast
to the north, slavery in the south to produce goods in farms was in need.
Secession
Abraham Lincoln was elected to be the President in 1860. He promised to restrict
slavery to the state where it already existed. South felt this was unfair to them and feared the
north would gradually dominate them. The South then voted to secede from the United States
and to form its own governmentthe Confederate States of America. First southern state that
seceded from the Union was the South Carolina, followed by Georgia, Florida, Alabama,
Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas under the leadership of Jefferson David.
Lincoln believed that if the South did not follow the law, he then used the force to
preserve the Union or nation. The Confederacys first firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861
opened the bloodiest war in the nations history.
The Civil War
Abraham Lincoln and the Black Slaves and the Secession of Nation.
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War was now certain because Lincoln was determined to preserve the Union. The
states that remained in the Union had more than 22 million people at this time, compared
with the Confederacy's 9 million. The Union also had the factories necessary to produce arms
for war and far more railroads than the Confederacy had. This would be the first war in which
railroads played an important part.
Neither the North nor the South was prepared for a war. The U.S. army numbered
only 16,000 men, and many of them were stationed in far western territories. The
Confederacy had to raise an army overnight. Threatened by invasion at any moment, both
sides prepared rapidly. In the spring of 1861 Americans waited uneasily for the fighting to
start. Few imagined the long and bitter war that was to come.
Both the Union (the North) and the Confederacy (the South) entered the war with
great confidence. Many people in the North thought they would win in a few months because
they were fighting to save the country. The South thought it would win because its cause was
justthe idea of states' rights. Southerners believed that any state had the right to ignore
federal laws that might hurt the state, including the right to withdraw from the Union.
During the warfare, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, ordering to free
slavery in slave states. Many black slaves joined the army and tried their best to run for the
free states. Then, the civil war ended on April 9, 1865, causing the North as the winner.
Reconstruction
Lincolns plan for reuniting the nation included allowing the South to regain
citizenship right and statehood. However, he did not live to see his plan, known as
Reconstruction, carried out. Five days after the war over, he was assassinated by a
Confederate sympathizer.
The Industrial Revolution
In its early years, the United States was an agricultural country. Most people lived on
farms. Americans exported agricultural products like cotton and wheat, and they imported
most of the manufactured products they used. During the War of 1812, when the supply of
such imported goods was cut off, the United States began its first real manufacturing efforts.
Most Americans, however, continued to live and work on farms and in small towns.
The Industrial Revolution had begun in England in the late 1700s, but it did not get under
way in the United States until after the Civil War. The Industrial Revolution was the changefrom making goods by hand to making goods with power-driven machines.
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U.S. business leaders built an industrial nation in a very short time. They opened
millions of jobs for workers. Many Americans left their farms to become factory or office
workers in cities. Thousands of immigrants came from Europe and Asia to work in the new
industries and to try to improve their lives.
On the darker side, businesspeople were often greedy and looked out only for
themselves. Poor working conditions, child labor, low wages, long hours, city slums, and
frequent economic depressions came with the industrialization period. Business owners, on
the other hand, prospered. Some made huge fortunes.
The industrial growth of the United States was rapid. Natural resources such as coal
and iron were plentiful. By 1890 the country had replaced England as the world's leading
steel producer. It also had more miles of railroad track than any other country in the world.
Growth of Big Business and Urbanization
Urbanization is the term explaining the shift of the population away from rural areas
to the cities where people could be close to jobs. Many major cities including New York,
Chicago, and Philadelphia had population more than one million and these cities were
railway centers that provided better transportation, supplies, and manufactured goods. This
rise of period caused many Europeans come to the United States seeking for a better fortune
in their life, affecting to the flood of job market. Being in the new world, the Europe people
were willing to work hard and paid less than those American. Some factories owned by
American hated those Europeans. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was founded to
protect the right of working for people in America.
The United States as a World Power
From the time it achieved its independence from England, the United States stayed
out of the affairs of other countries. This policy of isolationism prevented the United States
from forming alliances.
In 1867, the secretary of state for the United States both the territory of Alaska from
Russia against the wishes of most Americans. The purchase turned out to be a good
investment, however, because of Alaskas many natural resources. Also, because Alaska was
the first land acquired that was outside the boundaries of the continental United States, the
purchase made the beginning of a new foreign policy. The United States was no longer an
isolationist policy.
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World War I
The isms of the 1800s and early 1900snationalism, imperialism, and industrialism
helped to create conflict among Europeans. Nations tried to gain power and influence at their
neighbors expense. No single nation, however, felt powerful enough to stand alone. So mostnations formed military alliances. If one member of an alliance was attacked, the other
members would come to its aid. One such alliance was made up of Britain, France, and Russia.
Another alliance was made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire
(Turkey).
Then, on June 28, 1914, a single act sparked a world war. A nationalist from Serbia shot and
killed the Austrian archduke and his wife in Sarajevo, Bosnia, as the couple drove through the
streets. Austria, backed by Germany, declared war on Serbia, which was supported by Russia.
The alliances clicked into gear and World War I began. On one side were the Central Powers
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria. On the other side were the AlliedBritain,
France, Russia, Italy, and several other countries. The United States joined the Allies in 1917
after German submarines attacked American ships.
In the beginning most people thought the war would be brief and glorious. Instead, it lasted for
four long bloody years. On the Western Front, both sides dug trenches and fought to astalemate. Neither side could gain the upper handuntil the arrival of fresh American troops
tipped the balance in favor of the Allies.
World War I ended in 1918 when a new German government asked for an armistice, or
temporary peace agreement. The actual fighting ended at 11 A.M. on the 11th day of the 11th
month of the year. By then more than 8 million soldiers on both sides had died.
World War I changed the map of Europe. The old monarchies in Russia, Germany, and Austria-
Hungary disappeared. New nations such as Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Finland,
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania emerged. In addition, Germany was forced to sign the harsh
Treaty of Versailles. To prevent a repetition of World War I, the Allies created the League of
Nations. The hopes of this world peace-keeping body were crushed, however, when the United
States refused to join.
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The Rise of Communism
Although Russia was allied with the winning side in World War I, it had a lot of problems
during and after the war. The old Russian Government under Czar (Tsar) Nicholas II was
overthrown during the war. In 1917 Nicholas was forced to abdicate, or give up, his throne. (He
and his family were arrested and later executed by the communists.) A new government under
Vladimir Lenin took over. In March of 1918, Lenin signed a treaty ending the war with
Germany.
The Russian Revolution completely changed Russian society. The old nobility was crushed and
a small group of dedicated communists took over the reigns of government. Under the
communist philosophy, these rulers would stay in power until the people were ready to rule
themselves.
Despite the peace with Germany, Lenin still had a war on his handsa civil war. Many
Russians did not want to be governed by the communists. Neither did many non-Russian
nationals, such as the Finns, Poles, and Ukrainians. This civil war between the Reds
(communists) and the Whites (their opponents) was a bloody affair. Millions of Russians were
killed in the fighting or died as a result of famine or disease. In the end, the communists
prevailed.
In 1922 Russia became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or the U.S.S.R. The country,
most often called simply the Soviet Union, had 15 republics, one for each major national group.
The communists, now in total control, began to reorganize society. One step was to get rid of
private farms. In their place, the communists organized collectives, or farms run by the
peasants collectively. All the peasants farmed the land together and sold their crops to the
government.
Fascism vs. Democracy
Many Europeans craved strong leadership in the uncertain world of the 1920s and 1930s. They
wanted someone who could get results and who could restore national pride. In Russia, the
people got more than they bargained for in Joseph Stalin. He took over after the death of Lenin
in 1924. Stalin ruled with an iron fist, never flinching to eliminate anyone who opposed him.
He was, however, just one of the dictators who emerged out of the ashes of World War I.
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The Weimar Republic ruled Germany immediately after World War I. It was a democratic form
of government with constitutional guarantees for freedom of speech and religion. It leaders,
however, had great difficulties dealing with the economy and the war debts left over from
World War I. A new party arose in the 1920s with different answers. It was called the Nazi
Party, and its leader was Adolf Hitler. Hitler hated democracy and he hated the Jews. He tried
unsuccessfully to seize power in 1923. Hitler was arrested and sent to prison. There he
wroteMein Kampf(My Struggle), which outlined his plans for Germany.
Once out of prison, Hitler resumed his political activity. Many Germans were drawn to his
program. Then in 1933 they voted him chancellor, or prime minister, of Germany. Before long,
he gained total control over the country. He did revive the economy through large-scale
building programs, but his followers also burned books. They attacked Jewish businesses and
synagogues, and they began forcing the Jews to wear a yellow star on their clothing. Despite
such actions, Hitler enjoyed popularity with most Germans during the 1930s.
In Italy, another dictator came to power. He was Benito Mussolini, the head of the Fascist
Party. Mussolini shared many of Hitlers beliefs. He believed in dictatorship with a single party
and a single leader. The Fascists wanted Italy to be a strong and powerful country again. Like
Hitler in Germany, Mussolini turned his country into a totalitarian state.
The Nazis and the Fascists, however, wanted more. They soon built strong armies to threaten
their neighbors. Hitler took over German-speaking territories on Germanys border. Italy
invaded Ethiopia in Africa. Meanwhile, the democraciesprincipally Britain and Francedid
nothing to stop them. In 1938 the British and the French, wanting to avoid war at all costs, gave
in to Hitler at a meeting in Munich, Germany. Hitler had demanded the right to take over the
non-German nation of Czechoslovakia.
World War II
At the Munich meeting, Hitler had promised he would make no more territorial demands after
Czechoslovakia. He lied. Hitler had much greater ambitions for his government, which was
known as the Third Reich. But first he had to deal with the Soviet Union. Although both
countries were ruled by dictators, the communists hated the Nazis and vice versa. Yet they
agreed on one thing. They did not want to fight each otherat least, not yet. So in 1939, the
two enemies signed a nonaggression pact. Freed from his worry about a war with the Soviet
Union, Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939. Two days later Britain and France finally
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declared war on Germany. The war that the democracies had tried to hard to avoid had now
begun.
After crushing Poland, Hitler turned west and attacked France, which fell in June of 1940.
There was now only one free nation left standing in Western Europethe United Kingdom.
Hitler tried to bomb England into surrender with a blitzkrieg, or lightning war. But somehow
England held out. After ten months of an air war in the skies over England, Hitler quit. He had
lost the Battle of Britain.
Then, in June of 1941, Hitler broke his nonaggression pact with Stalin by attacking the Soviet
Union. The move caught Stalin by surprise. The Germans pushed deep into Russian territory.
But Russia wasnt a pushover like Belgium or France had been. It proved to be too vast, its
winters too cold, and its people too stubborn. Eventually Hitler was forced to retreat after
suffering massive losses.
Meanwhile on December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and the United States
declared war on Japan. Germany, an ally of Japan, then declared war on the United States. The
United States and Britain agreed it was more important to defeat Germany first. But the Allies
were too weak and Germany was still too strong to attack Europe directly. So they attacked
German forces in North Africa first and then defeated Germanys other ally, Italy. Finally, on
June 6, 1944, a day known as D-Day, the Allies landed in France. Meanwhile, the Russians
were pushing back the Germans in the East. Soon victory was in sight.
At last, in May, the Germans surrendered. Hitler committed suicide in his bunker in Berlin. It
was only then that the Allies discovered the full extent of the horrors that had occurred during
the war. The Germans had set up concentration camps, where they sent Jews and other groups
of people they did not like. More than 6 million people died in these camps.
In the Pacific, American forces began to close in on Japan by moving from one island to
another. Then, in August of 1945, the United States used a new and horrible weapon on Japan.
Americans dropped atomic bombs on two Japanese citiesHiroshima and Nagasakikilling a
couple of hundred thousand people, On August 14, Japan surrendered, and World War II was
over.
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Section 3: Civics and Government
To maintain order in a society, governments with rules and laws are established to
meet the needs of the individuals who make up the society. The main goals of local, state,
and federal governments in the United States are to maintain order, provide necessary
services, and protect basic freedoms and liberties. In turn, U.S. citizens have the
responsibility to get involved and participate in their government through voting and other
methods. Citizen participation is an essential ingredient in the U.S. system of government.
Types of Political Systems
Democracy Dictatorship Monarchy Oligarchy
- head of government is
chosen by the people to
be governed
-pure democracy allows
people the people to
make decisions directly
- representative
democracy includes
election of
representatives by the
people
- one leader completely
controls the political,
social, and economic
aspects of life in a
country
- official is not elected by
the people
- power to rule is held by
a royal family
- power is passed within
the family from
generation to generation
- government by a few
leaders who form a
group, usually from upper
classes
- official are not be
elected by the people
Exercise 1: Political Systems
Direction: Choose the appropriate response for each question.
1. Adolf Hitlers rise to power in Germany is an example of what type of political
system?
Answer:
2. What type of political system is headed by Queen Elizabeth II of England?
Answer:
3. The president of the United States is elected by the Electoral College. What type of
system is this?
Answer:
4. In ancient Athens (Greece) tribes and generals took turns at power. This is an example
of what type of political system?
Answer:
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The U.S. Federal Government
The U.S. Constitution is based on the idea of federalism. Under federalism, the
authority of the government is divided between the states and a central government. Thecentral government is further divided into three branches: the legislative, which makes the
laws; the executive, which carries out the laws; and thejudicial, which interprets the laws.
Under this separation of powers, no one part of government is able to dominate another. Each
branch of government is able to exert its authority to prevent another branch from becoming
too powerful. The government of the United States cannot operate effectively without the
support and participation of its citizens, and there must be communication among the three
branches of government.
The Legislative Brach: Maker of Laws
House ofRepresentatives Senate
The U.S. Congress
The legislative branch of the government is outlined in the Article One of the
Constitution. The U.S. legislative, called the U.S. Congress, is made up of two housesthe
House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives is called the lower
house, and the Senate is called the upper house. Each of the houses has equal power in
Congress.
The U.S. Congress has the power to
- levy and collect taxes - introduce a revenue or tax bill
(House only)
- approve treaties (Senate only) - declare war
- borrow money - approve presidential appointments
(Senate Only)
- impeach the president (House only) - provide and maintain an army and navy
- introduce bills other than tax bills - admit new states to the Union
- coin money
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The powers are called enumerated powers because they are listed in Article One of the U.S.
Constitution. In addition to enumerated powers, the Constitution provides for powers that are
not listed. The elastic cause enables the legislative branch to stench its authority to meet
the needs of specific situations that the founding fathers could not foresee.
The Executive Branch: Enforcer of the Laws
Article Two of the U.S. Constitution outlines the powers of the executive branch of
the U.S. government. The executive branch consists of the president, the vice president, and
the agencies and departments that are necessary to administer and enforce the laws of the
country. The president serves for four years and is limited to serving a maximum of two
terms. The vice president serves if the president becomes disabled or dies in office beforecompleting the term.
As described in Article Two of the U.S. Constitution, the president has the following
responsibilities:
- serves as commander in chief of the armed forces
- grants reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States
- appoints judges to the U.S. Supreme Court and ambassadors, with the approval of
the Senate- nominates and appoints major executive officers
- vetoes (refuses to approve) some bills sent by congress
Exercise 2: Presidential Powers
Direction: Place X next to the four specific powers of the president as defined in the U.S.
Constitution and explain why you feel that the framers of the Constitution reserved these
powers for the president.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
collects taxes
serves as commander in chief
grants reprieves and pardons
appoints Supreme Court judges
declare war
nominates major executive officers
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The Judicial Branch: Interpreter of the Laws
Article Three of the U.S. Constitution describes the Supreme Court of the United
States. The purpose of the Supreme Court is to rule on the constitutionality of certain
laws passed by Congress, the president, and the states themselves. The authority to
describe whether or not a law is in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution is called
judicial review.
The Supreme Court is composed of nine justices appointed for life by the
president. The head ofthe court is called the chief justice. The judicial branch of the
federal government consists of the U.S. Supreme Court, the 11 circuit courts of appeal
distributed throughout the country, and approximately 90 federal districts courts. The
Supreme Court is the most powerful court in the United States.The Supreme Court has the power to rule on
- cases involing a state and citizens of another state
- controversies among two or more states
- cases between citizens of different states
- conflicts over patents and copyrights
System of Checks and Balances
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Section 4: Economics
What Is Economics?
Economics is in many ways the study of everyday life. People put economics into practicealmost dailyas they work to earn money and use their earnings to buy things.
Specifically, economics deals with how people make choices to satisfy their needs and wants
with their limited resources. The basic things people must have to survivefood, shelter,
clothing, and the likeare needs. Things that are not necessary for survival but make life more
comfortablesuch as computers and DVD playersare wants. Resources are all the things that
people can use to make the products that they need or want.
In the language of economics, resources are calledfactors of production. Factors of production
are usually divided into three categories: land, labor, and capital. Land in economics is a
general term that includes not only the soil but also other natural resources, such as oil, coal,
and forests. Labor means the human work, both physical and mental, used to produce goods or
services. Capital in economics means human-made items, such as machinery, tools, and
buildings, that are used in production. In everyday language, capital may be used to mean
money.
One important issue in economics is the problem of scarcity. Scarcity means simply that
peoples wants are unlimited while the resources to satisfy those wants are limited. A person is
dealing with the problem of scarcity, for example, if she wants a dishwasher and a new stove
but has enough money to pay for only one of them.
Because of the scarcity problem, both individuals and nations must make choices that enable
them to satisfy some of their unlimited wants with limited resources. People differ widely in the
economic choices they make. Nations differ too, but each has an overall economic system that
guides the choices made in that country. Every economic system must provide ways to make
three basic economic decisions:
1. Whatwill be produced?2. How will it be produced?3. For whom shall it be produced?
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Modern Economic Systems
The graph to the right lists the names of the three basic economic systems: capitalism,
socialism, and communism. It also shows that each system has a special plan for dividing basic
economic decisions between the government and the private sector. The private sector
includes all those businesses that individuals own and run by themselves.
Economic and Political Systems
The private sector makes most of the economic decisions under the system of capitalism. Under
communism, the opposite is true: the government makes nearly all the economic decisions.
Socialism is an in-between case: the private sector makes fewer decisions than the government
does, but it still plays an important role in the nations economy.
In actual practice, it is impossible to find examples of nations that follow either pure capitalism
or pure communism. The United States is the worlds leading capitalist nation, yet the
government carries on a number of very important economic activities. The Peoples Republic
of China is a leading communist nation. Yet in recent years, the government of China has
encouraged a greater role for the private sector. That is why economists say most modern
nations have mixed economies rather than pure forms of capitalism or communism.
The main forces that make capitalism work are self-interest and competition. Private citizens
own most of the land and capital. They operate businesses to make profits for
themselves. Profit is the money left after all the expenses of running a business have been paid.
Business owners must compete, or try to stay ahead of other businesses that are also working
for profits.
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In a communist system, self-interest and competition are less important. Communists believe
that the goals of society are more important than individual wants. The government controls the
land, capital, and labor. The government plans the nations economic goals and directs all the
economic activities.
In a socialist system, the government controls the major resources and capital, such as the
mines, steel mills, and air and rail networks. Individuals in the private sector may own smaller
businesses.
Free Enterprise in the United States
The U.S. economic system is largely capitalistic. Another name for capitalism is free enterprise.
Free enterprise is based on a principle known as thefree market system. In economics,
a market is business carried on between buyers and sellers.
In the free market system, prices help decide what, how, and for whom to produce. Self-
interest, profits, competition, and the right to own private property are the key factors in free
enterprise and the free market system.
Self-interest is the single, most powerful force in the U.S. economy. Consumers, or the people
who buy goods and services, shop for the best possible goods at the lowest prices. Producers
look for ways to make the largest possible profits. Their search often leads them to invent better
products and to develop the most efficient ways to produce them. High profits may encourage
producers to expand their businesses. That growth will make more goods available to
consumers and provide more jobs for workers.
Competition has a similar effect. Because producers must compete with one another, each
business tries to keep the quality of its goods high and prices low so that consumers will choose
its products over others on the market. Consumers, in turn, get a broad choice of products to
buy.
The U.S. economic system also protects the right to own private property. Private property
includes factories and stores as well as peoples homes.
Under free enterprise, the U.S. government makes no central plan for the nations economy as
the Communist government in the former Soviet Union once did. However, the government
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does make laws and regulations that limit the freedoms of private business owners. The
minimum wage, for example, is a government regulation.
The government also produces certain kinds of goods and services. The postal system, local
schools, and city bus lines are all government sponsored. The purpose of these government
regulations and services is to keep the country running more smoothly.
Deciding What To Produce
Most people have unlimited wants, but everybody has a limited amount of money. A producer
cannot decide what to produce simply on the basis of what people want; he or she must take
into account whether people will have the money to pay for the product. For instance, it would
be foolish for a businessperson to try to produce and sell expensive sports cars in a poor
country. Although people in that country might want those cars, most of them would not have
the money to buy them. Moreover, the few people who could afford such cars might prefer to
spend their money on something else. Producers, therefore, have to take into account not only
whether consumers will want their product, but also whether potential consumers will be able
and willing to pay for it. The desire for a product, plus the ability and willingness to pay for it,
is called the demand for that product.
Demand usually leads to production. But before a businessperson decides to go into production
to meet a certain demand, he or she must consider one more question: Will consumers be
willing to pay more for the product than it costs the businessperson to produce it? Suppose, for
instance, that a company is planning to manufacture shirts. It will cost the company $15 to
make each shirt. Customers, however, are unwilling to pay more than $15 for the shirt the
company offers them. In this case, if the owners of the company are smart, they will get into
some other product line because they will not make a profit selling shirts.
The previous example illustrates that the decisions about what, how, and for whom to produce
are closely related to the search for profits. What will successful business people or companies
produce? They will produce those goods and services that can give them profits. How will they
produce? They will use the most efficient methods in order to make quality products, keep
production costs low, and gain the largest profits. For whom will they produce? They will
produce only for people who want their products and are willing and able to spend money on
them.
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Determining Prices
In some countries, prices are set by the government. In a free enterprise system, however, prices
are determined in the market. A market exists when buyers, who have money and want to buy
goods and services, are in contact with sellers, who offer goods and services and want money.
The price of a given product is established both by the buyers, who want to buy at the lowest
possible price, and the sellers, who want to sell at the highest possible price.
Economists say that prices are
determined by the relationship between
supply and demand. Supply is the
quantity of a good or service that a
seller is willing to sell at a certain price.
The law of supply says that if the price
of a product is high, the producers will
be willing to sell more of it. If the price
is low, they will want to sell less of it Economists picture supply by using a line graph. Prices
on a supply graph are shown on the vertical axis, and quantities are shown on the horizontal
axis. The graph on the left is an example of a supply graph for peaches.
The supply curve in the graph slopes upward. This shows that the quantity of peaches offered
for sale increases as the price per pound increases. At a price of $0.50 per pound, the seller
would be willing to sell 10 pounds. At a price of $1.00 per pound, he or she would be willing to
sell 40 pounds, and so on.
Demand is wanting a product, plus being willing and able to pay for it. The law of
demand states that if the price of a product is high, consumers will demand less of it. If the
price is low, they will demand more.
The demand curve in the graph to the right
slopes downward. This is because the lower the
price of peaches, the greater the quantity
demanded.
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In a free market economy, the price of a
product is determined at the point
where the quantity that consumers want
to buy is equal to the quantity that
producers want to sell. This is called
the market price. The market price of
peaches is illustrated in the graph on the
left.
Developing Goods and Services
In the early days of U.S. history, Americans produced what they needed and wanted on a small
scale. Often the family was the producer. All the factors of productionland, labor, and
capitalwere used, but there was a much heavier emphasis on human labor than there is today.
The earliest families raised animals, grew their own crops, and built their own houses. People
churned butter, preserved meat, made candles, built wagons and furniture, and sometimes even
wove the cloth from which they made their clothing. Men, women, and often children worked
long hours the year round.
In todays economy, Americans make goods inmass production. Mass production is
production on a large scale. It uses factory machines and modern power sources. Because of
modern mass production methods, the United States now uses fewer workers to produce many
more goods and services than in the past. The number of Americans now working in
agriculture, for example, has declined considerable since 1900. Thanks to modern methods,
however, U.S. farmers still produce enough food to meet the needs of U.S. consumers as well
as surpluses to other countries.