Key Terms Social Studies

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Spoils System

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The practice of a successful political party giving public office to its supporters

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Tariff

Back 2

A tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports.

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Mudslinging

Back 3

The use of insults and accusations, especially unjust ones, with the aim of damaging the reputation of an opponent

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Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

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Ended the Mexican-American War in favor of the United States.

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Mexican Cession

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Area of the present-day United States that Mexico agreed to give up as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War.

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Gadsden Purchase

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An agreement between the United States and Mexico, finalized in 1854, in which the United States agreed to pay Mexico $10 million for a 29,670 square mile portion of Mexico that later became part of Arizona and New Mexico.

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Temperance

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Moderation in action, thought, or feeling

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Abolitionist

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A person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery

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Underground Railroad

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A network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century enslaved people of African descent in the United States in efforts to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause.

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Suffrage

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The right to vote in political elections

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Telegraph

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A system for transmitting messages from a distance along a wire, especially one creating signals by making and breaking an electrical connection.

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Trade Unions

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A labor union of craftspeople or workers in related crafts, as distinguished from general workers or a union including all workers in an industry.

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Prejudice

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Preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience

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Discrimination

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The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex

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Nativists

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A policy of favoring native inhabitants as opposed to immigrants.

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Latitude

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The angular distance of a place north or south of the earth's equator.

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Longitude

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Angular distance east or west on the earth's surface.

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Protestant Reformation

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A major 16th century European movement aimed initially at reforming the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church.

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Quaker

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A member of the Religious Society of Friends.

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Cash Crops

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A crop produced for its commercial value rather than for use by the grower.

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constitution

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A body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed.

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Constitution

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The fundamental law of the United States.

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Republic

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A group with a certain equality between its members.

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Depression

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A long and severe recession in an economy or market.

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Federalism

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The federal principle or system of government.

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Cabinet

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A body of advisers to the president, composed of the heads of the executive departments of the government.

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Capitalism

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An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.

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Partisan

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A strong supporter of a party, cause, or person.

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Laissez-faire

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A policy or attitude of letting things take their own course, without interfering.

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Patent

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A government authority or license conferring a right or title for a set period, especially the sole right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention.