SOCIAL
SCIENCE VOCABULARY
GRADE 8
Vocabulary Definition
vigilante self –appointed enforcer
of the law (pp. 401, 549)
transcontinental across the continent from coast to coast
(p.549)
subsidy financial aid or land
grant from the government (p.550)
cooperative group
of farmers who pool their money together to buy seeds and tools wholesale (p.
565)
wholesale buying
or selling something in large quantities at lower prices (p. 565)
inflation a
rise in prices and a decrease in the value of money (pp. 503, 565, 843)
consolidate combine (p. 575)
rebate discount (p. 576)
trust group
of corporations run by a single board of directors (p. 581)
monopoly a
company or group having control of all or nearly all of the business of an
industry (p. 581)
free enterprise system economic system in which businesses are owned by private
citizens who decide what to produce, how much to produce, and what prices to charge
(pp. 28, 581)
mass production process
of making large quantities of a product quickly and cheaply (p. 588)
anarchist person who opposes
organized government (pp. 592, 737)
acculturation
process of holding on to older traditions while adapting to a new culture (p.
604)
nativist a
person has anti-foreign belief opposed
to immigration (p. 738)
urbanization movement of population from to
cities (pp. 335, 606)
tenement small apartment in a city
slum building (p. 607)
settlement house community
center organized in the late 1800’s to offer services to the poor (p. 609)
suburb residential area on the
outskirts of a city (pp. 613, 728, 845)
yellow journalism news
reporting, often biased or untrue, that relies on sensational stories and
headlines (pp. 619, 670)
patronage
the practice of awarding government jobs to political supporters (p. 631)
muckraker journalist
who exposed corruption and other problems of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s
(p. 634)
progressive reformer
in the 1800’s and early 1900’s who wanted to improve American life (p. 634)
initiative
process by which voters can put a bill directly before the state legislature
(p. 263, 636)
referendum process by which people vote
directly on bill (p. 636)
recall
process by which voters can remove an elected official from office (p. 636)
conservation
protection of natural resources (p. 641)
suffragist person who worked for
women’s right to vote (p. 646)
isolationist
after World War I, American who wanted the United States to stay out world
affairs (pp. 660, 708)
imperialism policy
of powerful countries seeking to control the economic and political affairs of
weaker countries or regions (p. 662)
racism belief that
one race is superior to another (pp. 119, 662)
corollary addition to an earlier
stated principle (p. 678)
diplomacy
nationalism excessive pride in one’s nation
(pp. 318, 686)
militarism
the policy of building up strong armed forces to prepare for war (p. 687)
propaganda spreading
of ideas to help a cause or hurt an opposing cause (p. 689)
bureaucracy system
of managing government through departments run by appointed officials (p. 695)
pacifist person who objects to any
war; believes war is evil (p. 696)
socialist person
who supports community ownership of property and the sharing of all profits (p.
696)
illiterate unable to read or write
(p. 694)
recession economic
slump that is milder than a depression (pp. 718, 874)
stock share
of ownership in a corporation (pp. 580, 720)
communism economic
system in which all wealth and property are owned by the state (p. 772)
disarmament reduction of armed forces and
weapons of war (p. 722)
Prohibition ban
on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor anywhere in the United
States from 1920 to 1933 (p. 724)
expatriate
person who renounces his or her own
country and takes up residence in a foreign land (p. 731)
company union
labor organization that is actually controlled by management (p. 737)
sabotage secret
destruction or property or interference with production in a factory or other
workplace (p. 737)
deport expel from a country
(p. 737)
quota system system
that limited immigration by allowing only a certain number of people from each
country to immigrate to the United States (p. 738)
bankrupt unable to pay debts (p.
748)
deficit (deficit spending) government practice of spending more than is taken in from
taxes (p. 763)
migrant (migrant worker) person who moves from one region to another in search of work
(pp. 766, 865)
totalitarian state country
where a single party controls the government
and
every aspect of people’s lives (p. 774)
Fascism
political system that is rooted in militarism, extreme nationalism, and blind
loyalty to the state (p. 774)
aggression warlike act by one country
without just cause (p. 775)
Nazi member
of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (p. 775)
scapegoat person
or group who is made to bear the blame for others (p. 775)
neutrality position of not taking
sides in a conflict (p. 285)
appeasement
practice of giving in to aggression in order to avoid war (p. 779)
rationing limitations
on the amount of certain goods that people can buy (p. 785)
compensation repayment for losses (p. 788)
containment the
policy of trying to prevent the spread of Soviet influence beyond where it
already existed (p. 811)
doctrine:
perjury to lie under oath (p. 820)
censure to officially condemn (p.
820)
exile
person who has been forced to leave his or her own country (p. 823)
guerrilla fighter who uses
hit-and-run attacks (pp. 192, 828)
escalate to expand (p. 828)
détente policy to reduce
tensions between countries (p. 833)
solidarity
inflation a
rise in prices and a decrease in the value of money (pp. 503, 565, 843)
productivity average output per worker (p.
845)
segregation
legal separation of people based on racial, ethnic, or other differences (pp.
532, 849)
integration mixing of different racial or
ethnic groups (p. 850)
boycott
to refuse to buy or use certain goods or services (pp. 150, 852)
affirmative (affirmative action) program to provide more job and
educational opportunities for people who faced
discrimination in the past (p. 864)
recession
economic slump that is milder than a depression (pp. 718, 874)
surplus extra;
condition that exists when income exceeds spending (pp. 37, 876)
apartheid strict separation of races
practiced in South Africa (p. 880)
sanctions measures
designed to make a country change its policy (p. 880)
mediation
the act of helping conflicting parties solve their differences (p. 879)
terrorism deliberate
use of violence to spread fear and achieve political goals (pp. 688, 886)
environmentalist person
who works to reduce pollution and protect the natural environment (p. 889)
refugee person
who flees his or her homeland to seek safety elsewhere (p. 895)