1. ABC’s of
Social Studies
by Tammy Kea
ELED 412

2. A is for Articles of Confederation
• During the Revolutionary War
• Defined new government
• Representatives from 13 states with limited
power
• Congress can’t declare war or raise $ for war
• Congress could ask for soldiers
• Printed own $ and taxes on imports
• Common citizenship, uniform weights &
measures, dealt with Native Americans
• Served as government till 1789

3. B is for Boston Massacre
• British sent troops to Boston
• Several colonists were killed
• Boston Tea Party – dumping of tea in harbor
to protest taxation
• Led to American War of Independence

4. B is for Battle of Gettysburg
• 1863 – 50,000 soldiers from North & South died
• President Lincoln’s eulogy the fallen men at the
Gettysburg Address
• 5 years of fighting, millions of $ in property loss
• 1865 – Confederate General Robert E Lee
surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant

5. C is for Constitution
• 6 years after Articles of Confederation
• Met in Philadelphia in 1787
• George Washington, James Madison, Benjamin
Franklin & Alexander Hamilton
• 1788 – ratified
• 1789 – George Washington elected as first
president
• 3 branches of govt. – executive, judicial &
legislative
• A checks & balances system

6. C is for Civil Rights Movement
• Three amendments added to constitution
• Lots of segregation rules
• 1896 – Pless v Ferguson: legal separation
• 1947 – Jackie Robinson: 1st black baseball player
• 1948 – integration of blacks into armed forces
• 1955 – Rosa Parks refused to give up seat on bus
• NAACP, Dr. MLK Jr. speech & assassination 1968,
• JFK proposed new civil rights laws, assassinated in 1963
• 1964 – Civil Rights Act passed prohibited segregation

7. C is for the Civil War
• Slavery topic of presidential election in 1860
• Southern Democrats backed proslavery John
C. Breckinridge of Kentucky
• New Republican backed antislavery Abraham
Lincoln **winner**
• Recession of southern states
• Southern states elected Jefferson Davis as
president

8. D is for Declaration of Independence
• Signed on July 4, 1776 by Thomas Jefferson
• Freedom and independence
• Rights to all people

9. D is for D-Day
• Hitler’s control of Europe
• 1944 - US joined England & French govt. to
invade Europe
• Eisenhower & Allied soldiers crossed English
Channel into France
• This large attack is known as D-Day
• France was freed of German Power
• Axis forces defeated

10. E is for the Enlightenment
• Also know as The Age of Reason
• 17th & 18th centuries questions about religion,
govt., and individual freedom
• Led to American War of Independence, French
Revolution, American Revolution

11. F is for Flag
• 50 stars = 50 states of the union
• Red = hardiness & valor
• White = purity & innocence
• Blue = vigilance, perseverance & justice
• 1777 – 13 stars for colonies, 13 red/white
stripes
• 1818 – set stripes at 13, add a star for each
state

12. G is for the Great Depression
• After WWI
• US prosperity
• October 29, 1929 – stock market crash
• Lasted 10 years

13. H is for (New) Hampshire
• Founded by two groups
• 1623 – # 1 is a fishing village by John Mason
• 1638 – #2 is called Exeter by John
Wheelwright

14. I is for Industrial Revolution & Modern
Technology
• England in mid-18th century
• Inventions, mining of fossil fuels
• Improvement of steam engine & industrial machines
• 1810 – Frederick Koenig invented printing press
• 1836 – Samuel colt invented revolver
• 1856 – Louis Pasteur invented pasteurization
• 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell patents phone
• 1903 – Wright brothers invent gas airplane
• 1914 – Henry Ford first American car
• 1946 – Atomic bomb invented
• 1985 – Microsoft invents Window

15. J is for (New) Jersey
• 1623 – by Dutch
• 1644 – by King George II
• Territory given to King George’s brother, Duke
of York
• Duke gave it to Sir George Carteret and Lord
Berkeley
• 1702 – became an English colony

16. K is for Ku Klux Klan
• Secret society during Reconstruction
• Wanted to enforce & terrorize African
Americans
• Divided South by color
• New laws formed called Jim Crow laws

17. L is for the Liberty Bell
• Symbol of freedom and liberty
• 50th anniversary of Pennsylvania’s original
constitution, the William Penn’s Charter of
Privileges
• Summon the people to hear Declaration of
Independence

18. M is for Middle Colonies
• New York
• New Jersey
• Delaware
• Maryland
• Pennsylvania
• Farming, shipping, fishing, trading

19. N is for New England Colonies
• Massachusetts
• Connecticut
• Rhode Island
• New Hampshire
• Farming, fishing, lumber & crafts

20. ˜
O is for (Juan de) Onate
• 1595 – permission from King Phillip II to
colonize New Mexico
• 1598 – founded first European settlement
west of Mississippi

21. P is for Pledge of Allegiance
• Declaration of patriotism
• First time in 1892 for 400th anniversary of the
discovery of America
• 1942 – official recognition by Congress
• 1954 – “Under God” added, stand, remove
hats, right hand over heart

22. Q is for Quakers
• Group that settled in Pennsylvania that were
persecuted for their religion
• William Penn helped create a safe place for
the group

23. R is for Reconstruction Era
• 1865 – 1877: unification
• Primarily fought in South and almost destroyed
• Characterized by hatred and violence
• Lincoln’s assassinated in 1865 – leadership given to Andrew
Johnson (later impeached)
• 14th Amendment enforced to Southern states
• 1870 – TX & FL back in Union

24. S is for Star-Spangled Banner
• National anthem in 1931
• Poem by Francis Scott Key during Battle of
Baltimore/War of 1812

25. S is for Statue of Liberty
• Gift of friendship from France for 100th
anniversary
• Universal symbol of freedom, democracy, and
international friendship

26. S is for Slavery
• 1619 – Dutch brought first slaves
• 1640 thru 1680 - #’s increased
• Eli Whitney’s cotton gin increased slave trade
• 1774 – regulating/prohibiting slavery
• 1798 to 1808 – 200,000 slaves
• 1804 – emancipation laws let to American Civil War
• 1862 – Abraham Lincoln issued Emancipation Proclamation
• 13th Amendment – slavery abolishment
• 14th Amendment – granted African Americans full
Citizenship (1866)
• 15th Amendment – African American men voting rights
(1866)

27. S is for Spanish American War of 1898
• US established power of Caribbean Sea &
Pacific Ocean
• US gained control of Philippines, Guam &
Puerto Rico
• Then, Philippines became independent and
Puerto Rico & Guam remained US
territories/became citizens

28. T is for Temperance Movement
• 1830’s – began
• 1855 – prohibit alcohol consumption
• 1919 – prohibit alcohol consumption at
national level, never fully enforced
• Al Capone made $$$ selling alcohol
• 1933 – 14 years of prohibition, 21st
Amendment repealed prohibition

29. U is for United States “Great Seal”
• A bald eagle holding an olive branch and a
bundle of arrows
• Olive branch = peace
• Arrows = military strength
• Eagle = holds a scroll with nation’s motto “E
Pluribus Unum” “Out of many, one”

30. V is for Virginia
• 1607 by Cpt John smith
• Natives ordered his death
• Saved by Pocahontas
• Pocahontas didn’t marry Smith, married John
Rolfe

31. W is for World History Encyclopedia
• Ancient World: humans/farmers/civilizations of
Babylon, Egypt, Europe, Greece, Romans, Africa & India
• Middle Ages: Byzantine, rise of Islam, Vikings, China,
Hundred Years’ War
• Age of Discovery: Renaissance, Aztec, Spain, Ming
dynasty
• Revolution & Industry: Russian, China, US, French
Revolution, American Civil War
• Modern World: Women’s rights, WW1, Great
Depression, WW2, Cold War, Korean/Vietnam War,
globalization

32. W is for White House
• Originally called the President’s House
• 1791 – planned for George Washington
• 1800 – completed and first occupied by John
Adams
• 1901 – christened by Theodore Roosevelt

33. W is for Women’s Rights
• 19 Amendment – right to vote
• 1963 – Equal Pay Act = better job/pay
• 1964 – Civil Rights Act = race/gender
• 1966 – The Feminine Mystique by Betty
Friedan & formation of NOW
• 1972 – Equal Rights Amendment = rights for
women

34. W is for World War I
• 1st global war
• Allies: England, France, Russia & Italy
• Central Powers : Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey &
Bulgaria
• Americans tried to remain neutral to benefit from trading
• German submarine destroyed Allied ships and sank
American cargo
• President Wilson asked to declare war on German &
Central Powers
• 1918 – Allies victory
• Treaty of Versailles – ended war, Central Powers had to pay
for war

35. W is for World War II
• German global confrontation from the Treaty of
Versailles after WWI
• Adolf Hitler mad about treatment in WWI
• Axis Powers – Germany, Italy & Japan
• Allies - Russia, France & England
• 1939 - Germany invaded Poland. France & England
declared war on Germany
• Hitler conquered Europe
• US supported Allies with supplies & weapons but not
troops
• 1941 - US joined war when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor

36. X is for TeXas
• 1845 – became the 27th state of American
union
• 1901 – oil discovered in Spindletop Oil Field
near Beaumont
• Second largest state
• Contains 5 geographic regions

37. Y is for (New) York
• 1624 – by Dutch
• 1674 – by British
• 1685 – became a royal colony
• Statue of Liberty is located there

38. Z is for (Lorenzo) Zavala
• Vice President for the republic of Texas before
the Battle of the Alamo