Social Studies Vocabulary
Grade 4
agriculture
raising plants and
animals for food
annexation
joining together
civil war
the war between the
North and the South
the raising of plants and animals
for food
Agriculture is important to
Texas because it has many
farms and ranches.
to add or join an existing country
or state
Sam Houston was in favor of the
annexation of Texas to the
United States.
a war between two groups in the
same country
My great-great-grandfather
fought for the Union in the
American Civil War.
colony
a settlement that is ruled by
another country
a place ruled by
another country
South Carolina was one of the
original 13 colonies.
constitution
a written plan of government
a written plan of
government
The Articles of Confederation
was the United States’ first
constitution, or written plan of
government.
empresario
one who received a
land grant
exploration
discovering a new place
http://www.lsjunction.com/people/austin.htm
a person who had received land
as a gift by the Mexican
government and could sell it to
others
Stephen F. Austin received land
from Mexico and was the first
Anglo empresario to begin
colony in Texas.
to search out and look for new
places
Exploration was an important
part of discovering new places in
the world.
immigrant
a person who comes into a
country from somewhere else
people coming to
country
Many immigrants moved to
America in the early 1900s.
independence
freedom from rule by another
country
freedom
March 2, Texas Independence
Day, is the day Texans celebrate
their freedom from Mexico.
industry
all the businesses that make one
kind of product or provide one
kind of service
business
Working in the automobile
industry and trying to build cars
can be very challenging.
innovation
a new way of doing something
a new way of doing
something
The iPad is a new innovation in
the last few years.
mission
a religious settlement
a religious building in a
settlement
Missionaries lived in a mission
and tried to convert people to the
Catholic religion.
population
number of people in a
place
primary source
first-hand knowledge of
an event
the number of people living in a
region
The population of the students
in CFISD is over 100,000.
a record made by someone who
saw or took part in an event
The Constitution is a very
important primary source in our
nation’s history.
Reconstruction
the time during which the South
was rebuilt after the Civil War
the time during which
the South was rebuilt
after the Civil War
During Reconstruction, the United
States focused on rebuilding the
South after the destruction that
occurred during the Civil War.
region
an area with at least one feature
that makes it different from other
areas
a specific area
Houston is located in the Gulf
Coast region of Texas.
republic
a form of government in which
the people choose their leaders
a government in which
people elect their
leaders
When Texas gained its
independence and became a
country, it was called the
Republic of Texas.
revolution
a sudden, great change, such as
the overthrow of an established
government
a sudden change
The American Revolution was
the fight for the colonists’
independence from Great Britain.
treaty
an agreement between groups or
countries
an agreement between
countries
urbanization
the movement of
people into cities
Texas and Mexico signed the
Treaty of Velasco to end the
Texas Revolutionary War.
the movement of people into
cities
The jobs created by World War II
caused urbanization in Texas as
people moved to the cities.