Social Studies 7-12 7 Flashcards

The Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) passed after the Civil War were primarily intended to:

Answer: Abolish slavery, grant citizenship, and protect voting rights for formerly enslaved people

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, the 14th granted citizenship and equal protection, and the 15th prohibited denying the vote based on race — together forming the constitutional foundation of Reconstruction's civil rights agenda.

Which economic principle holds that nations should specialize in producing goods for which they have a lower opportunity cost and trade for the rest?

Answer: Comparative advantage

Comparative advantage, developed by David Ricardo, argues that even if one nation can produce everything more efficiently, both nations benefit when each specializes in goods they produce at the lowest relative opportunity cost.

The policy of 'containment,' which shaped U.S. foreign strategy during the Cold War, was first formally articulated in:

Answer: The Truman Doctrine speech to Congress in 1947

President Truman's 1947 address to Congress, requesting aid for Greece and Turkey, laid out the containment philosophy — that the U.S. must support free peoples resisting communist subjugation — making it the doctrine's foundational public statement.

In physical geography, the rain shadow effect explains why:

Answer: The leeward side of a mountain range tends to be significantly drier than the windward side

As moist air rises over a mountain range, it cools and releases precipitation on the windward side. By the time air descends on the leeward side, it has lost most of its moisture, creating an arid 'shadow' — as seen east of the Sierra Nevada.

The concept of 'popular sovereignty' as applied to U.S. territories in the 1850s referred to:

Answer: Allowing residents of a territory to decide for themselves whether to permit slavery

Championed by Senator Stephen Douglas and embedded in the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, popular sovereignty held that settlers in each new territory — not Congress — should vote to allow or ban slavery, ultimately intensifying sectional conflict.

Which of the following best describes the significance of the Columbian Exchange for world history?

Answer: It created a lasting global transfer of crops, animals, diseases, and peoples between the Eastern and Western hemispheres

The Columbian Exchange, beginning after 1492, triggered an unprecedented two-way flow: New World crops (maize, potatoes, tomatoes) transformed Old World diets, while Old World diseases (smallpox, measles) devastated Indigenous populations — reshaping demographics, agriculture, and economies globally.