FSOT Flashcards
Business Cycle
A natural fluctuation between low and high points in the market.
.msg
Outlook Mail Message
Hyperlink
A link to an Internet address that can be used in documents. Users must control left-click to open a hyperlink.
Balance of Payments
The relationship between the payments made by one nation to all other nations and its receipts from all other nations.
John Locke
Promoted individualism and is credited with inspiring Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence
Liquidity
The speed at which an asset can be turned into cash, illiquid vs liquid assets.
HTML
Hypertext Markup Language, coding language used to construct the web.
Solipsism
The belief that all reality is just one’s own imaging of reality.
URL
Universal Resource Locator, refers to formal address of a document on the Internet.
Jamestown
The first permanent English settlement in North America, 1607.
Louisiana Purchase
President Jefferson bought from Napoleon in 1803.
Monitor vs Merrimack
A naval engagement of the two “ironclad” ships during the Civil War; demonstrating that wooden warships were obsolete.
Stamp Act
A law passed by British government in 1765 that taxed newspapers and other documents in the colonies.
Pocket-veto
The ability of a president to take no action on a bill, effectively vetoing the bill.
Single-Member District
Individual receiving majority of votes is declared the winner. System of election in the U.S. Usually leads to the development of a two-party system.
Closed Primary
Primary limited to registered party members, opposite of an open primary, where members of both parties can vote.
Discretionary spending
Spending that is entirely subject to congressional approval. Military spending is the largest of discretionary spending.
Department of the Interior
Responsible for the National Park Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Mandatory Spending
Entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are considered mandatory spending because the government is required by law to make such payments.
Habeas corpus
Prevents the government from holding you indefinitely, must show due cause.
Filibuster
A strategy where a minority can delay a vote by making long speeches, can force withdrawn of a bill.
Homestead Act
A law passed in the 1860’s which gave 160 acres to individuals willing to live on the land for at least 5 years
Whip
Charged with whipping up party support in issues and keeping track of party members votes.
Monroe Doctrine
A foreign policy statement declaring any European involvement in the affairs of The Americas to be considered an act of aggression toward the U.S.
Lame duck
An administration serving out a term after defeat of not seeking re-election.
Power of the Purse
House of Representatives in Congress control all budgetary matters
Proportional representation
Party receives percentage of seats based on percentage of vote received in the election. Generally yields higher turnout.
Cloture
A vote of a legislature to stop debate and force a vote. Requires 60 votes.
Civil Rights Act
Passed in 1964, prevented discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, or national origin.
Judicial review
The principle by which courts can declare acts of either the Executive Branch or Legislative Branch unconstitutional
Missouri Compromise
Allowed Missouri to enter the union as a slave state if Maine would be admitted as a free state
Line-item vote
The authority of the president to veto a specific appropriation in a budget passed by a legislature.
Patronage
The power of a government official to make appointments and offer favors.
Power of the Sword
Senate in Congress approves all treaties and requests for declaration of war.
John Paul Jones
Famous naval leader during the Revolutionary War.
Manifest Destiny
An idea that the U.S. Was destined, by God, to expand across North America to the Pacific Ocean.
Mayflower Compact
Prior to the Mayflower landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620, the Mayflower Compact created a set of laws necessary for a civil society.
Ayatollah Khomeini
Iranian religious and political leader who became the Supreme Leader of Iran in 1979.
Lusitania
British passenger ship sunk by German U-boat carrying hundreds of Americans. Helped push Americans towards involvement in WWII.
Russo-Japanese War
Theodore Roosevelt received a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in ending this conflict.
Collective bargaining
Negotiations by labor groups the nature of which apply to the entire Union as a whole.
Law of diminishing returns
Adding additional units of any one output to fixed amounts will yield successively smaller increments of output.
Substitute
A good labeled a substitute replaces the role of another good.
The Straight of Hormuz
Choke point between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea.
Russian Revolution
Revolution occurring in 1917, bringing Lenin’s communist party into power.
Capital Gain
Personal income earned by the sale of assets, such as stock or real property.
Supply and Demand
Have an inverse relationship. Supply has a positive slope, demand has a negative slope.
Full employment
An economic environment that exists when all individuals who want a job can find a job.
Levant
Name for the nations on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea - Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, Cyprus, Egypt.
Suez Canal
Connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea.
Boxer Rebellion
Rebellion in China between 1898-1901 with the goal of pushing out foreign powers within China. U.S. and Great Britain stopped the rebellion.
Johannes Brahms
German composer famous for the orchestra “Lullaby”
Scott Joplin
An African-American ragtime pianist. Famous works include “The Entertainer” and “Maple Leaf Rag.”
Naturalism
A style of art which attempts to depict the real world as accurately as possible.
Existentialism
Stresses that people are entirely free and therefore responsible for what they make of themselves.
Natural Law
Doctrine that human affairs should be governed by ethical principles that are evident in nature.
Luddites
Opponents of labor-saving machinery in Britain. Destroyed textile-making machines.
Francis Scott Key
Wrote US national anthem, the star spangled banner during the bombardment of Fort McHenry, Maryland in the War of 1812.
Thomas Hobbes
Seventeenth century philosopher. Argued that the international system was anarchic and thus war was inevitable.
Ludwig van Beethoven
German composer famous for works such as the Ninth Symphony. Became deaf midway through his life.
Impressionism
A style of painting which attempts to covey the artist’s impression of an event.
Determinism
View that human actions are entirely under control of the individual. Understood as free will.
Materialism
Philosophical position that nothing exists except matter.
McCain-Feingold Act
Passed in 2002, this law amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, the Act sought to place new limits in campaign finance.
Glass-Steagall
Legislation that prevented the merger between commercial banks and investment banks.
Classical Antiquity
Age of history dominated by cultures of Greece and Rome, about 500 BC to 500 AD.
Incas
Native American people built a civilization in present day Peru. Conquered by Spain
Hard Money
Money donated directly to candidates in an election, and thus subject to regulation by the Federal Election Commission.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The FDIC was created in 1933 in order to insure the deposits of account holders in FDIC institutions up to $250,000.
Khmer Rogue
Communist movement in Cambodia in 1975, during which it carried out one of the worst examples of genocide in world history.
The Interstate Commerce Act
Legislation passed in 1887 in order to ensure fair practices of railroad companies. First federal law to regulate private industry in the U.S.
Soft Money
Money donated to a respective political party, and thus not subject to much oversight from the FEC.
The Federal Reserve Act
In the aftermath of a near banking crisis in 1913, Congress created the establishment of a Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve serves as a lender of last resort for US financial institutions.
Byzantine Empire
Eastern portion of the Roman Empire. Capital was Constantinople, now called Istanbul.
Herodotus
Called the father of history. Wrote about the invasion of Greece by the Persian Empire.
Archduke Francis Ferdinand
Austrian prince who’s assassination is credited with starting WWI
Industrial Revolution
Rapid industrial growth during the 18th century beginning in England.
Reformation
Religious movement in the 16th century that attempted to reform the Roman Catholic Church.
Oslo Accords
Signed in 1993, this document recognized Israel as a legitimate state and the right to Palestinian self-determination.
Mustard Kemal Ataturk
Founder of the Republic of Turkey following Crimean War with Russia.
Warsaw Pact
A military alliance between the Soviet Union and a variety of satellite states in response to the forming of NATO.
George III
King of England during the American Revolutionary War.
Populism
The idea that greater popular participation in government is necessary to a functioning country.
Quorum
The minimum number of members of congress that must be present to conduct business. 218 in the House of Representatives and 51 in the Senate.
Intolerable Acts
Acts put in place by the British in order to punish the colonies following unrest and the Boston Tea Party.
Battle of Lexington and Concord
First battle of American Revolution.
Marburg vs Madison
Gave the Supreme Court the power to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional.
Battle of Bull Run
First battle of the American Civil War. Confederate victory here surprised and humiliated the Union.
Benjamin Franklin
A founding father who later served as a diplomat in France. Also wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac.
John Hancock
President of Continental Congress signed the constitution in a large manor as to be seen by the British.
Patrick Henry
Executed at the hands of the British, famous for his “give me liberty or give me death” statement before his death.
Age Discrimination Act of 1967
Prevented firing of an individual for age related reasons. To prevent employees from classifying employees in any way that could relate to their age. Outlawed mandatory early retirement.
Benedict Arnold
American General during the Revolutionary War that betrayed the Americans by attempting to surrender West Point. the West Point fort prevented British control of the Hudson, preventing them from cutting the colonies in half.
Compromise of 1850
Known as the great compromise. This provision created an agreement in which no slave state or free state would be admitted to the union without one of the opposite persuasion being admitted as well.
Vichy Government
Government of France established after Germany took control, of France in WWII
Munich Agreement
Agreement made between Neville Chamberlin of Britain and Adolf Hitler of Germany allowing Germany to keep Austria in exchange for a promise to halt further aggression. Seen as an example of appeasement leading to increased aggression.
United Nations Security Counsel
Counsel composed of 15 members, 10 temporary, 5 permanent, tasked with establishing UN response to matters of security and intervention.
The Progressive Era
Period between 1890-1920s marked by social activism and expansion of social rights.