Social Studies Vocabulary
Grade 5
abolitionist
a person who wanted to
end slavery
amendment
an addition or change
a person who wanted to end
slavery
Frederick Douglass was an
abolitionist who gave
speeches against slavery.
an addition or change to the
Constitution
The Bill of Rights is made-up of
the first ten amendments to
the U.S. Constitution.
armistice
an agreement to stop fighting
an war
agreement to stop fighting
An armistice was signed to
end World War I.
boycott
to refuse to buy or to use goods
or services
not to buy or use goods
The colonists had a boycott on
tea.
checks and balances
a system that gives each
branch of government a
way to check the other
branches
a system that gives each branch
of government different powers so
that each branch can watch over
the authority of the others
The checks and balances
system keeps any branch from
becoming too powerful.
civil rights
Bill of
Rights
rights guaranteed to all
citizens by the Constitution
compromise
each person in a
disagreement gives up
something in order to get
something else
democracy
a form of government in
which people have the
power to make choices
depression
a time of little money and
few jobs
rights guaranteed to all citizens
by the Constitution
Martin Luther King, Jr. worked
to ensure African Americans’
civil rights were provided by
the government.
an agreement in which each
side in a conflict gives up some
of what it wants in order to get
some of what it wants
Prior to the Civil War, slave
states and free states would
compromise in order to avoid
war over the issue of slavery.
a form of government in which the people
have power to make choices about their
lives and government, either directly or
through representation
The United States government
is a democracy in which its
citizens have the power to
make choices.
a time of little economic growth
when there are few jobs and
people have little money
Many Americans lost their
homes, money, and jobs during
the depression.
division of labor
Work that is divided so that
each worker does a small part
of a larger job
work that is divided so that
each worker does a small
part of a larger job
Henry Ford used division of
labor when he installed the
assembly line in his car factory.
manifest destiny
the belief, shared by many
Americans, that the United States
should one day stretch from the
Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean
the belief that the United
States should stretch from
the Atlantic to the Pacific
Ocean
Many Americans believed that the
manifest destiny of the U.S. was to
control all the land between the
Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
plantation
a huge farm
a huge farm
The plantation home set on
an acre surrounded by many
acres of cotton.
ratify
to approve
to approve
Carrie Chapman Catt wanted
Congress to ratify the 19th
amendment to the Constitution in
order to give women the right to vote.
representative
someone who speaks for
you
reservation
land set aside by the
government for the
American Indians
a person who speaks or acts
for someone else
We elect senators and
representatives to speak for
us in governmental decisions.
An area of land set aside by the
government for use only by
American Indian groups.
American Indians signed
treaties with the U.S.
government so they could
move to a reservation.
sectionalism
regional loyalty
regional loyalty
Our country’s sectionalism
caused disagreements between
the North and South which
eventually led to the Civil War.
segregation
the practice of keeping people in
separate groups based on their
race or culture
Whites
Blacks
separating people because
of their race or color
Many Americans were against
the practice of segregation
because it separated people
based on their race or color.
suffrage
the right to vote
the right to vote
The fight for women’s suffrage
led to the ratification of the 19th
amendment and gave women
the right to vote.
territory
land that belongs to a national
government but is not a state
land that belongs to a
country but is not one of its
states
Many of the U.S. states were a
territory prior to becoming a
state.
transcontinental railroad
the railway line that
crossed North America
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/1800/louisianapurchase/index.shtmll
the railway line that crossed
North America
The transcontinental railroad
was made up of several rail
lines such as the Union Pacific
and the Central Pacific.