Review Topics for Social Studies Final Exam
North Carolina Geography
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Coastal Region – Outer Banks
o The Outer Banks are the Eastern most section of North Carolina. Separating the Atlantic
Ocean from the tidewater area of Carolina, the Outer Banks are considered a gorgeous
destination for tourists. The banks however are terrible for shipping because they
prevent large ships from coming close to shore. There are no major port cities in North
Carolina for this reason.
Piedmont – “Foot of the Mountain”
o Piedmont is French for foot of the mountain and describes the largest area of North
Carolina. Everything in between the mountain ranges on the western part of North
Carolina and the coast on the East. The majority of North Carolina (including Butner) is
found in the Piedmont.
Mountains
o The mountain range in North Carolina is located on their western most side and are
known for having very impressive forests. These forests combined with large nearby
populations have helped develop business in the western part of the state.
Industrialization
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The process when goods go from being created by hand to being created by machines. Examples
include the transition from sewing by hand to sewing machines and cutting down crops by hand
and using tractors to gather crops. The process creates less of a need for labor or workers,
which allows for workers to move from farms (agriculture) to cities in order to find new jobs.
The overall process of industrialization causes what is known as an Industrial Revolution. This
took place in the United States in the second half of the 19th century (1870+), but occurred in
other places such as England beforehand.
Urbanization is a term used when describing the movement of people from rural areas to urban
areas like cities. This was most common during the Industrial Revolution.
Jim Crow Laws
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By the 1890’s Americans were divided into groups in many aspects of life according to race. This
was particularly noticeable in the Southern half of the United States where laws were passed
that forced segregation in many public places. These laws were commonly referred to as Jim
Crow Laws. They stemmed from a Supreme Court ruling in 1896 in Plessy v. Ferguson where it
was determined that the races may be separated, but only if the conditions of their treatment
were the same. This idea of “separate, but equal became” become a common phrase used to
describe the division of African- Americans and whites in the South. Eventually, the idea of
separate, but equal would be erased with new Civil Rights legislation in the 1960’s.
Civil Rights
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The Civil Rights movement in the United States had been stirring for decades prior to the 1960’s,
when legislation was finally passed in Washington reforming voting rights and civil rights for
African Americans. Women and minorities had participated in protests for decades during the
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1910’s and 1920’s. The struggle for equality has been a long process and is still continuing into
the current century.
It is important to note that for African Americans civil rights have been a long sought goal in the
post-bellum (after the Civil War) era. Shortly after the Civil War there was a brief period of time
that offered opportunities to African Americans in the South. After the corrupt bargain in 1877
which resulted in the election of Rutherford B. Hayes and the removal of union soldiers from the
South Jim Crow Laws began limiting the freedoms that the 13 th, 14th, and 15th amendments had
created for African Americans.
Jim Crow laws that were established to keep blacks and whites separate were and this was
upheld in the Supreme Court Case Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). “Separate, but equal” became a
very common phrase explaining why African Americans and Caucasians were kept segregated.
The real truth is that blacks and whites were kept separate, but rarely were things equal. More
often than not African Americans were forced to submit to substandard conditions and
oppressive racism.
In the 1960’s leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. (SCLC) and Rosa Parks (Montgomery Bus
Boycott) led protests through nonviolent means. These nonviolent protests are examples of civil
disobedience. Martin Luther King Jr. was seen as the national leader for the Civil Rights
movement until his death in 1968.