Download 2nd Semester Common Assessment Study Guide

World History
2nd
Semester Study Guide
Name___________________
Exploration
1. Explain why European pursued overseas expansion.
2. Which European country took the lead in overseas expansion? What areas became a part of their empire?
3. Define mercantilism4. Explain the effects of the Treaty of Tordesillas.
5. Describe the accomplishments of the following:
a. Prince Henry the Navigator
b. Christopher Columbus
c. Amerigo Vespucci
d. Ferdinand Magellan
6. Who conquered the Incas?
7. Who conquered the Aztecs?
8. What factors led to the conquering of the Aztecs?
9. What was the Columbian Exchange?
Scientific Revolution
10. What are the steps of the Scientific Method?
11. What is the difference between the heliocentric and geocentric ideas?
12. What were the causes of the Scientific Revolution?
13. Describe the accomplishments of the following:
e. Kepler
f.
Galileo
g. Ptolemy
h. Copernicus
i.
Aristotle
j.
Newton
k. Descarte
l.
Copernicus
Enlightenment
14. What were the beliefs of John Locke and how did various countries during the 18th century apply his ideas to their own
situation?
15. Explain Hobbes’ idea of a social contract.
16. On what topic did philosophers mainly focus their thoughts?
17. Describe the beliefs of Montesquieu
18. Describe the beliefs of Rousseau.
French Revolution & Napoleon
19. What were the causes leading up to the French Revolution?
20. What did the Declaration of the Rights of Man guarantee to French citizens?
21. Answer the following questions for the Reign of Terror:
a. What was it?
b. Who was the leader of it?
c. How did it end?
d. What were its effects?
22. What were the reforms Napoleon brought to France?
23. Explain Russia’s “scorched earth policy.”
24. What contributed to Napoleon’s defeat in Russia?
25. What happened at the Battle of Trafalgar?
Industrial Revolution
26. Define the following:
a. Entrepreneur
b. Corporation
c. Capitalism
d. Laissez-faire
27. What is urbanization?
28. What were the causes of the industrial revolution?
29. What were the effects of the industrial revolution?
Imperialism
30. Why did European countries decide to colonize Africa?
31. What was the impact of this colonization?
32. Which countries made up the Triple Alliance?
33. What is Social Darwinism?
34. What is the “White Man’s Burden”?
35. Argue- which were the most important factors that led to the development of Imperialism? Focus on at least three of them.
World War I
36. What were the causes of World War I?
37. What were the effects of World War I on the continent of Europe?
38. What caused Russia to pull out of World War I?
39. Who took power after the Russian Revolution?
Economic Systems
40. Define:
a. Capitalism
b. Socialism
c. Communism
Inter-war Years
41. Explain the methods totalitarian leaders used to gain and keep power.
42. Explain why totalitarian leaders were able to come to power in Europe between WWI and WWII.
43. What was the reaction of European nations to the expansion of Germany and Italy during the 1930s?
44. What policy did the United States use during the 1930s to avoid European problems?
-Give two reasons why this policy was popular.
45. Explain the importance of the following to the events that occurred in 1930s Europe.
a. Propaganda
b.
Nationalism
c. Great Depression
46. How did the Treaty of Versailles cause of WWII? Argue which three elements of the treaty were the most influential.
47. What role does Europe have to play with present political boundaries in the Middle East and Africa? Why are these
boundaries not what native populations would have picked?
World War II
48. Describe the importance of the following during World War II.
a. Winston Churchill
b. Joseph Stalin
c. Franklin Roosevelt
d. Battle of Stalingrad
e. Pearl Harbor
f. Battle of the Bulge
g. Operation Overlord (D-Day)
49. What countries formed the Axis powers?
50. What were the primary countries that formed the Allied powers?
51. Explain the reasons why Japan became involved in World War II?
52. Explain why the United States decided to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
53. Explain the importance of the following:
a. Potsdam Conference
b.
Yalta Conference
54. Define the following;
a. Genocide
b. Holocaust
55. What happened on Kristallnacht? Why was this significant?
56. Who was targeted during the Holocaust?
57. What was the purpose of the Nuremburg Trials?
Cold War
58. Define the following:
a. Cold War
b. Containment
c. Domino Theory
d. NATO
e. Warsaw Pact
f. United Nations
g. Satellite nations
59. Define and describe the purpose of the following US policies:
a. Truman Doctrine
b.
Marshall Plan
60. What were the goals of the United States during the Cold War?
61. What were the goals of the USSR during the Cold War?