Middle School Challenge- Social Studies

Harriet Tubman

A United States abolitionist born a slave on a plantation in Maryland and became a famous conductor on the Underground Railroad leading other slaves to freedom in the North

Witchcraft

A belief of many in the 1600s that resulted in the accusation, trial, conviction, and hanging of a number of people in Salem, Massachusetts. This came to be known as the Salem witch trials.

Incumbent

A candidate in an election who currently holds the political office for which he/she is running.

Martin Luther King Jr.

A clergyman who led the civil rights movement in the South in the 1960s. He organized marches to protest segregation and racial injustice.

American Civil War

A conflict between the northern and southern states from 1861-1865 when the southern states fought to succeed from the nathion (leave the US).

Suez Canal

A connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. It is often used by ship to avoid traveling all the way around Africa.

Inflation

A continuing increase in the price of goods.

Canada

A country to the north of the US that is the second largest country in the world. The country is made up of provinces instead of states.

Grand Canyon

A deep, wide canyon in Arizona formed by the Colorado River.

Dictatorship

A form of government in which all the power is held by one person or a small group of people.

Democracy

A form of government in which the power is held by the people and granted to their freely elected representatives for the purpose of running the government.

Patent

A government document that proves that an invention is yours and yours alone.

Great Lakes

A group of five lakes in the north-central part of the of the US along the Canadian border. It is comprised of Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. They are the largest group of freshwater lakes in the world.

Memorial Day

A holiday observed on the last Monday in May in honor of American soldiers killed in wartime.

Circumnavigation

A journey around the world by ship. This was first completed by Magellan's crew.

Pearl Harbor

A large American naval base in Hawaii that was attacked during World War II by Japanese planes.

Appalachians

A mountain chain that extends almost the entire length of the East Coast, from Quebec, Canada to Alabama.

Himalayas

A mountain range in south-central Asia that is home to the highest mountains in the world, including the very highest, Mt. Everest.

Civil Rights Movement

A movement in the United States beginning in the 1960s and led primarily by African-Americans in an effort to establish the civil rights of individual African-American citizens

Thanksgiving

A national holiday celebrated to commemorate a feast held between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag in 1621. This is the fourth Thursday in the month of November.

35 Years Old

A person must be at least this many years of age in order to run for the office of US President.

Cartographer

A person who makes maps.

Benjamin Franklin

A politician that helped draw up the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; he played a major role in the American Revolution and negotiated French support for the colonists; as a scientist he is remembered particularly for his research in electricity.

Abolitionist

A reformer who favors abolishing slavery.

Mount Rushmore

A rock sculpture featuring the faces of four American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. It is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Underground Railroad

A secret aid to escaping slaves that was provided by abolitionists in the years before the American Civil War

Colony

A settlement far away from the country that rules it. America was originally thirteen of these under the control of England.

Cold War

A state of political hostility that existed from 1945 until 1990 between countries led by the Soviet Union and countries led by the United States.

War of 1812

A war (1812-1814) between the United States and England which was trying to interfere with American trade with France.

World War II

A war beginning in 1939 with the German invasion of Polland. The US formally joined the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Revolutionary War

A war fought for independence in the late 1700s by the American colonies against Great Britain.

Vietnam War

A war fought in Southeat Asia between South Vietnam and the communist North Vietnam. The US became seriously involved in the war in the early 1960s hoping to prevent communists from taking over Southeast Asia.

World War I

A war that began in Europe in 1914 in which Germany and its allies fought against other countries , led by Britain and France. The US attempted to stay neutral but entered the war in 1917 siding with Britain and France.

Rosa Parks

A woman responsible for helping the Civil Rights Movement to gain traction across America after refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white person.

Articles of Confederation

A written agreement ratified in 1781 by the thirteen original states; it provided a legal symbol of their union by giving the central government no coercive power over the states or their citizens

Labor Day

An American holiday honoring workers and is celebrated on the first Monday in September.

Astrolabe

An ancient instrument used for estimating the altitude and predicting the position of celestial objects, such as the moon, other planets, and stars.

Yukon Territory

An area in northwestern Canada and east Alaska where thousands of people rushed to in the 1890's after gold was found in the Klondike mining district.

Communism

An economic and political movement started in the 1800s by Karl Marx. Communists believe that workers should take power and control all aspects of social and economic life.

Longitude

An imaginary line, or meridian, used to measure distance in degrees east or west of the prime meridian.

Latitude

An imaginary line, or parralel, used to measure distance in degrees north or south of the equator.

Artifact

An object left behind by people who lived long ago.

Harry S Truman

Became president after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. This president was the one to give the orders for American soldiers to drop the atomic bombs (Fat Man and Little Boy) on Japan.

Mediterranean Sea

Bordered by southern Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, this is the largest inland sea in the world and connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the Straight of Gibraltar.

John F Kennedy

Both the youngest president to be elected and the youngest president to die, this 35th president of the US was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.

Pony Express

Express mail carried by relays of riders on horseback; especially between Missouri and California around 1860

1st Amendment

Guarantees the freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly.

Founding Fathers

Members of the Constitutional Convention that drafted the United States Constitution in 1787.

Fort Knox

More than 6 billion dollars in gold is held in underground vaults here. This is the largest amount of gold stored anywhere in the world.

Watergate

One of the worst political scandals in American history, it is named for 5 men being caught breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic Party under the orders of Nixon's high officials in the Watergate Hotel.

Gulf of Mexico

Part of the Atlantic Ocean bordered by the sourthern coast of the US and the eastern coast of Mexico.

2nd Amendment

Permits the citizens of the United States the right to bear arms.

Nomad

Someone with no permanent home and who stays moving from place to place, like the member of a tribe that moves from place to place in search of food.

Kentucky

The 15th state of the United States that was a border state during the American Civil War and is famous for horse racing.

Prime Meridian

The Earth's line of zero degrees longitude. Slicing the earth along the circle of the prime meridian would divide it into the Eastern and Western hemispheres

Integration

The act of bringing people together, especially from different races, together in schools, neighborhoods, and public places that were once segregated.

13th Amendment

The amendment written to prohibit slavery.

Electoral College

The body of electors who formally elect the United States president and vice president.

Legislative Branch

The branch of the United States government responsible for making the laws and is made up of the two houses of Congress.

Judicial Branch

The branch of the United States government responsible for the interpretation of laws and the administration of justice

Washington DC

The capital of the United States. It sits on the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia.

President

The commander-in-chief of the United States Army and Navy.

D-Day

The common name for June 6, 1944. This is the day that Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, France during World War II.

Prohibition

The common name for a law passed in the 1920s to prevent alcoholic drinks from being made and sold.

Heresy

The denial of the beliefs of a church. A person who goes against the teachings of the church is known as a heretic.

Constitution

The document that established the national government of the United States. It was written and adopted after the Revolutionary War setting forth the basic laws of our nation.

Culture

The entrire way of life of a people, including their customs, beliefs, and language.

Bartering

The exchange of one good or service for another.

George Washington

The first president of the United States.

Impeachment

The formal way of disciplining the President of the United States. This involves charging a public official with an offense committed while in office.

Mount Everest

The highest mountain in the world located in the Himalayas.

Genocide

The killing of an entire group of people. Arguably the most well-known instance of this is when the Nazis attempted genocide of the Jews during the Holocaust.

Sahara Desert

The largest desert in the world, it exists in northern Africa.

Amazon River

The longest river in South America and the second longest in the world carrying more water than any river in the world.

Nile River

The longest river in the world that runs through Africa from Egypt into the Mediterranean Sea.

Disfranchisement

The loss of voting rights.

House of Representatives

The lower legislative house of the United States Congress.

Cardinal Directions

The main directions - North, South, East, West

Minuteman

The name for citizen volunteers who was always prepared to take up arms and fight during the American Revolution.

Bill of Rights

The name for the first ten amendments to the Constitution. The protect the freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and press.

Reconstruction

The name for the ten years after the Civil War, when the defeated southern states were organized and admitted back into the Union.

Stars and Stripes

The nickname for national flag of the United States of America.

120

The number of counties Kentucky has.

50

The number of states that make up the United States of America.

Reconstruction Era

The period after the American Civil War when the southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union; 1865-1877.

Boycott

The refusal by someone to do business with or have contact with a person, group, country, or product.

Cultural Diffusion

The spread of ideas from one place to another after people of different cultures have been in contact.

Propaganda

The spreading of information, ideas, or rumors to help or hurt a cause. The Nazis used this to turn public opinion against the Jews in efforts to commit genocide.

Mount McKinley

The tallest mountain in the US standing20,320 ft tall.

Great Plains

The vast, flat area of prairie, or grassland, that extends through parts of the Midwest, the West, and the Southwest. It has very rich soil and grows vast quantities of corn and wheat.

Economy

The way a country's people use natural resources, money, and knowledge to produce goods and services.

Great Depression

The worst economic period in American history beginning with the collapse of the stock market in 1929.

1776

The year the America was founded and the thirteen colonies dclared independence Great Britain.

Executive Branch

This branch of government consists of the President, Vice-President, and other officials. Its function is to carr out laws passed by the Legislatve Branch.

Declaration of Independence

This document was written mainly by Thomas Jefferson and declared the United States to be an independent nation.

Congress

This is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Amendment

This means to change.

Theodore Roosevelt

This president prioritized conservation and is responsible for the creation of national parks, forests, and monuments. He is also well-known for his aggressive foreign policies, particularly in Latin America. The Panama Canal was built during his leadership term.

Veto

When a president or governor refuses to sign a legislative bill into law.

19th Amendment

Written so that all citizens of the United States have the right to vote.