Geography - GED Social Studies

Polytheism is a religion defined by the belief in more than one God. In the ancient world almost all religions were polytheistic—such as the Greek and Roman religions, Egyptian, Norse and so on; however, since the rise of Judaism, then Christianity and Islam, monotheistic religions (the belief in one God) now largely dominate.

A monotheistic religion is defined by the belief in only one God. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all monotheistic religions. As is Zoroastrianism, an ancient Iranian monotheistic religion and philosophy. Of these choices only Hinduism is polytheistic, having a large range and variety of Gods.

Xenophobia is an important term and important trend in human and American history. Xenophobia is the fear of foreigners, and it is a motivating factor in many of the worst instances of violence and atrocities in human history. It can also be a primary motivating factor in less dramatic, but no less important, circumstances, like limits on immigration, racism, tariffs, civil unrest and so on.

The original Native American population is believed to have crossed into North America via a land bridge in the modern-day Bering Strait. So they would have crossed from what is now Northern Russia into Alaska and then rapidly worked there way (over many generations) down throughout modern North and South America.

A refugee is someone who has either been forced to leave or else has fled some disaster—famine, poverty, genocide, religious warfare, etc. A refugee leaves his or her own country and heads for a willing country believed to be safer. Different countries around the world have widely varied practices when it comes to accepting refugees. The diaspora is the name given to a community of displaced people, e.g. the Jewish Diaspora.

The phrase “God, glory, and gold” is often used to describe the motivations behind European conquest and settlement of the Americas. It is most frequently used to describe the first wave of European colonialism under the Spanish. It is a shorthand term to illustrate how the Spanish were motivated to colonize the Americas in order to spread Christianity ("God"), gain personal fame and notoriety ("glory"), and become immensely wealthy by exporting gold and silver back to Europe ("gold").

The Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed in 1928 by most of the powerful nations of the world at the time. Signed between World War One and World War Two, it was meant to prevent a future outbreak of world war. Considering that World War Two broke out a decade later, and that Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931, it can hardly be seen as a success, yet it was an important step in the history of civilization, because it was the first major attempt to renounce warfare as a means of foreign policy.

The term, "Apartheid," refers to a period in South African history when the government actively promoted and sponsored discrimination and segregation on the basis of race. It ended in 1990.

The Crusades is the name given to a series of military campaigns waged by the nations of Western Europe between 1095 and 1487 C.E. The primary goal was to retake Jerusalem and the Holy Land for Christianity from the Islamic Empires that held sway there at the time, but some crusades were declared against heretic Christians in Europe.

The Hundred Years’ War was a series of conflicts waged between England and France from 1337 to 1453. The war was primarily fought for control of the Kingdom of France and ended with English finances exhausted, with civil war brewing as the majority of France remained outside of English control.

An armistice is a temporary halt in conflict during a war; it is often followed by the signing of a peace treaty, but when two sides cannot reach agreement it may simply be a temporary break before the fighting resumes. The policy of allowing an enemy or a rival to achieve certain gains in the hope that they will then be appeased is called "appeasement." A smaller state or nation that is dependent on a larger state for protection is called a "satellite state." A vote by the people to directly decide the outcome of an issue is called either a "plebiscite" or a "referendum."

The term, "Bourgeoise," refers to the Middle class. It has its origins in the French Revolution. The term carries connotations suggesting that the members of this class are unusually materialistic or obsessed with money.

The Nile River in East Africa is the longest river in the world; it runs through what is otherwise a relatively dry and barren environment. As such, its importance to early agricultural civilizations cannot be overstated. The civilization of Ancient Egypt sprang up along the banks of the Nile River.

The Code of Hammurabi is one of the earliest known examples of written law in the ancient world. It was written, supposedly, by the Babylonian King, Hammurabi.

The religion of Christianity emerged relatively quickly following the death of Christ. It spread around the Roman Empire at rapid pace, and within a few hundred years was adopted, by the Emperor Constantine, as the official religion of the Roman Empire.

All of these were empires of South America except for the Sumerian Empire. The Mayans lived in modern-day Mexico and Guatemala from about 300 C.E. to 900 C.E. The Mayans are most well known for their extraordinary astronomical observations and understanding. The Incan Empire included most of modern Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia as its territory, lasting for a few hundred years, between roughly 1300 and 1550 C.E. The Aztec Empire existed in central Mexico around the same time as the Incas. They were completely destroyed by the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors and Hernan Cortes. The Olmec Empire existed in a much earlier time period than the rest of the South American civilizations previously discussed—from about 1500 B.C.E. to about 400 B.C.E—and ruled in a similar area of Central America to the Mayans. The Sumerian Empire on the other hand is one of the earliest known civilizations from the ancient Mesopotamia region of the world (what is now Iraq and Syria). The Sumerian Empire existed several thousand years ago and is considered important to historians because the earliest known writing that has been found is in the language of the Sumerian Empire.

The Holy Roman Empire was nominally created from the ruins of the Western Roman Empire during the so-called Dark Ages of European history. Charlemagne, a Frankish King in the early ninth century, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800 C.E.

The Protestant Reformation began in Europe in the early sixteenth century. Specifically it can be traced to 1517, when the German monk nailed his 95 Theses to the door of a Church in Germany. Lutheranism was the first major religion of the Protestant Reformation, followed shortly by Calvinism (John Calvin), Zwinglism (Ulrich Zwingli), and Anglicanism (Henry VIII).

Confucianism is a philosophy that arose in China 2500 years ago. It is also sometimes called a religion. Confucianism’s primary tenets are a deep respect for ancestors and an obedience to legal tradition and order.