8th grade social studies vocabulary – Flashcards
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Laissez-faire
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Laissez-faire is a French expression that literally means, "hands-off". Laissez-faire is an economic idea that argues a government should NOT be involved in the economy; it should keep its hands-off the economy. Traditionally the U.S. economy has been run on a laissez-faire basis. Economies in Europe tend to be less laissez-faire as governments in Europe are more involved in their economies, requiring businesses to follow more rules and regulations than they are required to follow in the U.S. Is Obamacare an example of a laissez-faire government policy?
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Free Enterprise
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An economic system where people can buy, sell and produce whatever they want; as long as it's legal.
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Patent
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A legal document which gives an inventor the exclusive right to profit from his/her invention for a set number of years.
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Precedent
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A rule, law, or tradition that is followed by others. When judges rule on legal issues their rulings are often used as a binding guide for judging similar cases involving the same general issue; this is called establishing a precedent. For example the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) that racial segregation, (separating blacks and whites in public), was legal. After this ruling all judges had to follow this rule (or precedent) in all case involving claims of racial segregation. In Brown vs. Board of Education (1954) the Supreme Court changed its mind and made a new precedent that said racial segregation was illegal. The most recent famous example of the Supreme Court establishing a precedent was in the 2013 case of United States vs. Windsor where the court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal.
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Capitalism
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An economic system based on private property, the rule of law and free enterprise. Private property means you can own things, the rule of law means that you have to follow or abide by the laws and judgments made by the courts (whether you agree with them or not). See above for definition of free enterprise.
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Ideology
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A system of beliefs, ideas and ideals that form the basis for understanding economic, political, and social life.
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Communism
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An economic system where all property is publicly owned by the government, there is no ownership of private property and the government controls the economy. Under communism there is only one political party allowed; the communist party.
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Socialism
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Socialists believe economic inequality (the fact that some people have a lot of money and some people have little) is bad for society and that the role of government is to reduce economic inequality. Socialism aims to reduce income inequality by introducing government programs that benefit the poor. e.g. free public education, free or subsidized healthcare, social security for the elderly, cheap public transportation, food vouchers (stamps) for the poor. Because the government provides these programs taxes are much higher under a socialist government than a capitalist government. Under socialism the government owns certain sectors of the economy like electricity, railways, and water supply. Unlike communism under socialism there are a number of political parties.
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Social Democracy
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This political ideology combines elements of capitalism and socialism. This is a political ideology that favors elements of socialism such as free healthcare, free education, government pensions, etc. and elements of a capitalist economy. In a social democracy the government doesn't own sectors of the economy like it does under socialism. Israel is a social democracy, as are most Scandinavia countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark).
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Fascism
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A political system where the government has a lot of power, there's devotion to a strong leader, a very strong emphasis on national pride and a capitalist economy. A fascist views political violence and war as acceptable means to achieving national growth and claims that stronger nations have the right to expand their territory by taking over weaker nations. Fascism also has a strong racist element.
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The Political Spectrum
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Shows differences in political opinions+ beliefs Extreme left- communism. Extreme right- fascism Liberal. Conservative
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Left Wing Politics/Liberal Politics
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Government to be involved to make society more fair/ equal Gov. Programs to help- food stamps, free medical care Believe in helping environment Believe in equal rights- abortion, same-sex marriage
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Right Wing Politics/Conservative Politics
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Little government involvement, little taxes Don't favor same sex marriage or abortion
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Partisan
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Person strongly supports one side of an issue. The more partisan you are the less likely you are to compromise Gov. Not soot to be too partisan
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Bipartisan
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All politicians are partisan but some are also bipartisan Seek to compromise in an issue usually pass legislation
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Incumbent
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Candidate who has already been elected and is running again to be re-elected. Challenger- person they're running against
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Grassroots politics
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People at the local level (community) want a change in govt. politics Sometimes this can spread worldwide. Example: civil rights movement (1960)
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Primary elections
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Before an election is held to elect a candidate. Choose the candidates who will run for office. Open- anyone can vote Closed- only ppl in that party can vote Presidential primaries- go from state to state and have multiple primaries in order to be nominated.
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Nominating convention
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Once every four years dem. and rep. Parties have large meeting to officially nominate vp. And president. Lay out policies. Pep rally
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Caucus
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Meeting of elected members of a political party who meet once a week to discuss strategies/ policies. Dem. and rep. Each meat separately
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Theocracy
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Form of govt. ruled by religious leader. There is no freedom of expression. Iran is a theocracy.
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Autocracy
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Dictatorship- one person in control- whatever he says goes. N. Korea is autocracy kin Jung um
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Oligarchy
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Govt. that is run by a small group of people. Usually people have a connection to politics/ rich. Russia after communism
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Anarchy
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Believe in no govt. voluntary cooperation- leads to chaos
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Meritocracy
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Not a form of govt. belief that ppl certain skills/ merit should be in charge Ex- going to the best college should be the ones in charge.
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War Hawks
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Debate in govt. about an international problem- Hawks will want to go to war to solve problem. "Hawkish"
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Doves
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Opposite of Hawks solution- no war, but to work things out peacefully "dovish"
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Imperialism
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Powerful nations use military, political economic power to take over weaker nations. Take their natural resources. British empire took over Asia+ Africa
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Annex
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To take control of another country or a part of it- ex: Russia took over Crimea (part of Ukraine.
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Armistice
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Agreement to end fighting fighting between countries. First step to making peace with a country. Ceasefire or truce.
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Emmigrant/ immigrant
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Emigrant- exit or leave country Immigrant come into a new country
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Alien
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Immigrant living legally in a country- they have all rights of a citizen except right to vote.
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Naturalized citizen
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An Alien who has gone through the steps of citizenship ex: mr, coughlan
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Nationalism
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Nationalism feeling of being loyal or proud of your country- too much nationalism can be dangerous
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Xenophobia
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Intense dislike/ fear about ppl. From other countries.
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Government regulation
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Govt. creates rules procedures that businesses must keep. Ex- FDA- food is safe Some people say this goes against laissez faire Democrats yes republicans no
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Gross domestic product
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Total value of goods and services produced in a country in a year The higher the GDP the better the country's economy's health
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A corporation
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When a privately owned company goes public- usually to earn more money. If you buy a share and the company does well- the value of the share goes up.
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Tariff
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Tax imposed on imported goods
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Embargo
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An official ban on trade with another country
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Coup
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Overthrowing the government by force- replacing it with a new govt. usually carried out by military
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Sedition
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Encouraging citizens to revolt against the govt. ultimately lead to revolution against the govt.
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Secede
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To withdraw from an alliance federation or association Go your own way Ex: south in civil war
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Sectionalism
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Loyalty to a particular region or section of of country instead of the country as a whole.
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Counter terrorism
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Military or political actions intended to fight terrorism. Ex- USA patriot act, sending troops to fight ISIS
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Govt. deregulation
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Opposite of govt. regulation - take away rules on businesses - republicans in favor - democrats not in favor
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Capital
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Money that is invested in a business
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Pacifist
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Someone who is against violence
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Suffrage
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The right to vote
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Isolationism
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Not getting involved in world affairs
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Abolitionist
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Americans who wanted slavery to end
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Arsenal
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Storage place for weapons/ ammunition
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Fugitive slave
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A person who escapes from slavery
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Mason-Dixon line
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Started in 1760 in order to resolve the boundaries despite between Pennsylvania Maryland and Delaware. Became famous in civil war as line that separated free and slave states Today separates north and south
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Political compromise
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Agreement where each side has to make a compromise
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Judicial review
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Judicial branch decides whether the actions of the executive+ legislative branch are fair (constitutional) precedent started with Marburg vs. Madison.
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Filibuster
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A speech to delay legislation
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Census
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An official count of the country's population Every 10 years
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Defamation
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Writing or saying terrible and untrue things about someone
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Diplomacy
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Conducting negotiations between different nations Diplomats
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Demographics
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Statistical study of a population. Based on race religion income age and gender Used to find out what interests a particular population.
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Government bureaucracy
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Permanent government workers who run the day- to day parts of the govt. such as payroll taxes healthcare There is a lot of red tape (paperwork) to go through which can be frustrating.
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Assimilation
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An immigrant who takes on customs traditions and language of his new country.
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Habeas corpus
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Judge orders a prisoner to came to court. Then he decides if he is detained illegally- set free or legally.
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Migration
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The movement of people within a country. - great migration- 2 waves
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Manifest destiny
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G-d intended American settlers to move west in 1800 and settle there.
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Appeasement
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Govt. policy that thought if you give in to an aggressive country they will stop being aggressive. Later this was seen as something that encouraged aggression- not preventing.
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The border states
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States that still wanted slavery but also wanted a strong federal union. Lincoln slowed this because they had important transportation and communication lines. Ex: Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia.
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Homestead
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Ownership of land once you settle on it. Homesteaders move out west to settle on land. Lincoln made the homestead act- gave settlers land for free but they had to settle there for five years.
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Nullify/ nullification
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To overturn a federal law. Usually the federal law is superior to state law.
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Evangelical voters
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Conservative Protestant Christians Religious On the right politically Care about Israel- against- same sex marriage, abortion, gun control.
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The Bible Belt
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Area in south- religious - former CSA High concentration of church goers Politically and socially conservative Black and white Ted Cruz wanted to win here but he lost surprisingly to trump
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Blue collar voters
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Wage earning workers- mechanics construction etc Working class On right and left but with union membership- left.
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White collar voters
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Middle class- professionals- doctors Lawyers Require college degree Both sides but slightly more on the left
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The rust belt
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Referring to area- western NY western PA Illinois Michigan Ohio Indiana Known as industrial heartland but when abandoned- known as rust- belt.
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Unions
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Organization formed by workers to protect their rights. Trade unions= per job Strong supporters of Democratic Party (left)
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Collective bargaining
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Unions represent workers who bargain on their behalf Negotiate raises/ improve working conditions
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Infrastructure
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Physical+ organizational structures Physical: sewage plants, roads, water supply, bridges Organizational: education, hospitals, military,
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Sanctions
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Govt. actions one country takes against another country in order to punish them for not abiding by international laws Ex: trade
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Boycott
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Withdrawing financially socially and politically to make a statement/ punish an organization/ business.
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The establishment
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The people in control of the power
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Lobbyists
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Hired to represent business- get legislation for their company
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Affirmative action
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Gives special consideration to black Americans- special consideration.
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Red states v blue states
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Red- republican Blue- democrat
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Plurality
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When three people run for election the person with the most votes- not always majority- wins.
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Contested convention
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Also known as brokered convention - happens when there isn't a majority of delegates to determine a party's candidate. - at contested convention delegates vote for who should be the candidate for president
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Ethnocentrism
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Looking at the world from the perspective of your culture which you believe is better than any other culture.
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Globalization
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ppl. From all over the world are drawn together more ecenomically and socially - ideas are becoming more similar
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Political machine
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A political organization run by a member of a political party - try to get many supporters so then ultimately can get votes. - controls a city or region
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Baby boomers
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Americans born during the 1950's- population increased by 20% - economists believe we will have a strain on economy b/c this population is retiring at a large rate- need for social security.
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Split ticket voting
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Voter splits his vote for different parties ex: one party for presidency and another party for congress - can lead to a divided government - voting happens at the same time
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Free trade
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Countries trade with other countries with out tariffs or fees. - great- more goods available at cheaper price - bad- ppl. will lose jobs because they can't compete with international companies
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Endorsment
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Support for a candidate EX: Carson endorsed trump bush endorsed Cruz - meant to help candidate win votes.
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Tenant farmer
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Rents land on landlord estate - tenant farmers are usually poor - in return they had to pay portion of their crops to owners.
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Gerrymander
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Manipulate boundaries so one candidate would gain more favor
