World-Wide Government

1

Milestones Social Studies Review: 6th Grade

1

WORLD-WIDE GOVERNMENT:

Big Question / Gov’t Term / Description
How is power shared? / national/federal govt has all the power. Local govt has none.
Local govt has all the power. National govt has very little influence.
Power is shared between national & local governments
Do people have a voice? / Power is held by one person.(no voice for the people)
Control by a small group of individuals whose authority generally is based on wealth or power. (no voice for the people)
Power is retained by the people. (is usually exercised indirectly through a system of representation and regulated by elections)
Types of Democracies
Parliamentary / Presidential
The executive branch of government is nominated to their position by the ______branch, and are directly responsible to it; this type of government can be dissolved at will by the parliament / The executive branch exists separately from a legislature and is elected by the ______.
In Canada, the Prime Minister gets his job from the members of ______. They can boot him out, if they aren’t happy with his performance at any time. Therefore…he has to keep the members of Parliament happy most of the time in order to keep his job. / In the US, the ______is elected directly by the people. He (or she) doesn’t have to worry about making congressmen and senators happy all the time. His position is stable for ____ years (until the next election). It is not a “popularity contest” with the legislative branch of government.

World-Wide Economy:

Types of Economies**
All decisions are based on how it was done in the past. A very underdeveloped economy that often based on agriculture. A traditional economy is sometimes known as a subsistence economy. In some cases, currency may not even be used and barter may take place.
All decisions are based on what the government thinks is best for the country. Prices and supplies are determined by the government.
All decisions are based on what individual people or companies want. Prices are determined by what the market will bring. Whatever people are willing to pay determines the market value of an item.

** In the real world, most countries have MIXED economies, which means that they are between pure command & pure market economies. For example – Cuba is mixed/mostly command

TRADE BARRIERS: Things that limit trade.

*Mountains & ice are physical trade barriers*

______a tax that can be placed on goods coming into a country from another country.
“Yes, Country X, you can sell your cars here, but it’ll cost you $300.00 per car.”

Quota – a limit on the amount of goods that one country will allow another to bring into their country.

“Country Y will only be allowed to sell 1000 cars in the United States.”

Embargo – a complete trade restriction on some or all goods being sold between nations.

“Country Z is not allowed to sell cars in the United States anymore”

GDP stands for ______. When you add per capita to GDP it means ______.

GDP is value of all final goods (things made & natural resources) and services (jobs) produced iwithin a nation in a given year. Developed countries, like the USA & Canada, have a high GDP. For countries that do not have many highly-valued resources, their GDP is probably very low.

So how can they maximize what they DO have????

1) Educate and train their people ______

2) Purchase or build items that will allow you to make more money ( a tractor or build an airport) = ____________ –

3) Person who starts his/her own business ______

4) Gifts of nature ______

Directions for reading selections:

1. Make up 10 questions for each region (Europe, Canada, Latin America, and Australia). Write them down on a piece of notebook paper. Number them: E1 –E10, C1 –C10….. You should have a total of 40 questions when you are done.
2. Answer each question.
3. Highlight (by highlighter, underlining…) AND number the place in the text where the answer is located. We have done this in class so you are familiar with this technique.

For example

E1. What is causing Germany’s acid rain problem?

Factories and cars as well as the lower elevation of the European Plain is causing a

pollution problem in Germany. (see highlighted texted in reading for an example of direction

#3)

EUROPE

Geography: Europe's landforms include high, snowcapped mountains and broad plains. Its major landform, the Northern European Plain, has rich, fertile soil that supports farms and livestock. Europe produces a large amount of grains, including nearly all the world's rye. It also contains energy and mineral resources such as coal. For these reasons, it is the most densely populated area of Europe. Europe has an abundance of rivers, lakes, and other waterways. It is also surrounded by seas, which has encouraged trade and helped people travel easily. Remember: the Ural, Alps, and Pyrenees mountains block trade.

The 3 major environmental concerns are acid rain in Germany, smog in the United Kingdom, and radiation in Ukraine. E1. The acid rain in Germany is caused by its own industrial factories and cars, but also because the pollution from the rest of Europe sinks down into the Northern European Plain. It destroys trees, erodes statues/art, and hurts wildlife. In the UK, the people are so densely populated (tightly packed) that the cars & factories created air pollution. The combination of smoke & fog creates a thick “smog” in London. In 1986, a chain reaction in the reactor went out of control creating explosions and a fireball in Chernobyl, Ukraine. The Chernobyl accident killed more than 30 people immediately, and as a result of the high radiation levels in the surrounding 20-mile radius, 135,000 people had to be evacuated….forever.

Many European languages, such as French, Italian, and Spanish, are based on Latin, the language of Rome so they are called the Romance languages. Germanic people from the north invaded the Roman Empire and overthrew the last Roman emperor. This is why Germanic languages, such as German and English are spoken in the North. Finally, the eastern part of the empire, known as the Byzantine Empire, lasted another 1,000 years. This is why the Eastern countries still speak Slavic languages. The Russian language uses the Cyrillic alphabet.

European society and culture are more secular, but most European Christians still belong to the Roman Catholic Church (Christian). But there are 3 major religions in Europe: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. All 3 have a common patriarch/father in Abraham. He believed a voice from the heavens told him to be monotheistic (which was new, because most people 4,000 years ago worshiped many gods). People that followed him were called Jews. The Jewish holy texts are called the Torah and they worship in synagogues/temples. About 2,000 years after Abraham, a Jew named Jesus declared himself to be the awaited Jewish Messiah. He was crucified, but his followers believe that he rose from the dead. His followers are called Christians. Their holy book is called the Bible and includes parts of the Jewish texts and stories of Jesus’ ministry. They worship in churches. Around 600 years after Jesus’ ministry, Mohammed believed that an angel told him that he was the last prophet (others included Abraham & Jesus) for Allah. The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Their holy book is the Koran, which includes stories of all 5 prophets and their house of worship is a mosque.

History: In the fifteenth century, Europeans set out on a series of overseas voyages that would lead to the establishment of European trading posts and colonies in both the Americas and the East. This was due in large part by Prince Henry the Navigator’s school for exploration. Religious zeal, a quest for personal and national glory, and a desire for new wealth were the chief motives behind the European voyages. New technologies and the growing power of the European monarchies made the voyages possible. The Spanish and Portuguese conquests of Central and South America were rapid and devastated the Aztec and Inca civilizations. Wanting to share in the wealth, the Dutch, English, and French moved to set up colonies in North America, South America, Africa, and Asia.

There were 4 M.A.I.N. causes for World War I: Militarism (buildup of military & everyone wanting to use their new guns), Alliances (some countries made secret pacts with others to help out in case of war), Imperialism (Europe rushed to take over the world, which made the European countries resent each other), and Nationalism (the belief that one’s country is so great that it’s ok to hate everyone else).

After World War I, Europe was in a serious economic depression. Many countries were bombed so badly that they were in ruins and couldn’t make money. The Treaty of Versailles, which ended WWI, hurt Germany the hardest by demanding money they didn’t have and calling them out as the main “bad guys” of the war. These 2 factors led to the rise of the Nazi party, which promised to make Germany great again. Additionally, by 1900, most countries had begun to limit the power of rulers. However, fewer changes occurred in Russia, where czars remained powerful and focused on modernizing the economy. Following World War I, a communist state was established in Russia (now called the USSR/Soviet Union). The last monarch in Russia, Czar Nicholas II, abdicated his throne and was later killed. This upheaval, between the haves and the have nots, was called the Russian Revolution.

The Nazi party soon took over Germany, which elected the soon-dictator Adolph Hitler. He blamed much of the suffering of Germany on the Jews & the French (who wrote the treaty of Versailles), so he went to war with both groups. This was World War II. Inside Germany & neighboring countries, he killed Jews & other people he didn’t like in the Holocaust. The United Kingdom, The United States, the Soviet Union, teamed up to beat him.

After the war, the USSR & the United States became locked in a struggle for world influence. This tense time between the United States and the Soviet Union became known as the Cold War. Much of the Cold War centered on the split Germany (West: democracy; East: communism). Once the Soviet Union fell apart, it led to the collapse of the communist party & rise of democracy in (again called) Russia. It also led to the reunification of Germany under democracy.

Economics: The United Kingdom, Germany, and Russia all have mixed economies, although Russia’s economy is much closer to “command” than to “market.”

The European Union was created after World War II to economically help Europe. It has encouraged trades. Today, many countries use the Euro coins to encourage trade through Europe.

Government: The United Kingdom has a unitary government with a parliamentary democracy. Germany has a Federal government with a Parliamentary Democracy (the leader is called a chancellor.) Russia has a federal government with a parliamentary democracy (Here, the leader is also called a President!). Vladmir Putin, the leader of Russia, is not allowing much in the way of personal freedoms. People that oppose him, or that he does not like, “disappear.”

CANADA

Geography: Because so much of its population, cities and industry are located in the southern part of their country within 100 miles of the US/Canada border, so is most of Canada’s pollution. Gases emitted from factories, cars and even coal burning stoves can mix with water vapor in clouds and cause acid rain. Acid rain can kill plant life, poison waterways and destroy buildings (eats away marble and stone). Over 35 million US and Canadian citizens live along The Great Lakes. The lakes provide food, employment, transportation and recreation for both countries. Industrial pollution and run-off from cities and large farms risk pushing the Great Lakes to the point where they may not be able to recover. Logging and timber companies are big business in Canada. They provide thousands of jobs for Canadians. However, because past generations of loggers and timbermen failed to properly re-plant and manage the clear-cut forests…Canada is not regrowing its woodlands as fast as it should. The careless mining of minerals in the Canadian Shield has led to many pollution problems.

History: John Cabot, an explorer who worked for King Henry VII of England, left Europe in 1497 and sailed west. He hoped to find a shortcut to Asia. Instead, he landed on the east coast of what is now Canada. This is important, because in later years, Great Britain will claim much of the territory located on the east coast of North America as theirs…since Cabot was working for them when the east coast was discovered. French explorer Samuel Champlain established France’s first permanent colony in Canada at Quebec in 1608. The colony became wealthy by trade in furs, timber and fish.

Canada came under British rule after the British won the French & Indian War in 1763. The British government let the French people continue to follow their own culture in Quebec. In part because the British didn’t want another American Revolution in Canada, they allowed Canada to start governing itself. Canada gradually became independent from Great Britain, until 1931 when it became “fully” independent & autonomous. Today, it is part of the British Commonwealth but runs itself. Former French strongholds of Quebec and Montreal maintained a mostly pro-France population. British efforts to control the region were always met with defiance. Both language and religious differences kept the Quebec area isolated from the rest of the country. Since 1960, there were UNSUCCESSFUL attempts to make Quebec independent. In 1974 French became the official language of the province. Quebec voters narrowly rejected secession from Canada in a 1995 referendum.

Economics: Canada has a mixed economy that is pretty close to pure market. Because of their proximity (closeness) to the United States, the US is Canada’s leading trading partner. Even though Canada has great mineral wealth and many other natural resources, most of those are not located near large cities.

.

Government: Canada is a constitutional monarchy: The British made Canada part of its empire, and then granted it independence. The prime minister, reports to the queen’s representative in Canada (the governor general). Canada is a parliamentary democracy: The people elect members of Parliament to represent them. The executive branch of government is nominated to their position by Parliament, and are directly responsible to it; this type of government can be dissolved at will by the Parliament.

Canada is a federation: Power is divided and shared between the central government and the provinces so that each region retains some management of its internal affairs. The central government, in Ottawa, create policies that directly affect upon both individuals as well as the provinces and territories

LATIN AMERICA

Geography: Most people in Mexico live in Mexico City. Mexico City has most of its wind currents blocked by surrounding hills and mountains. Therefore, air pollution sometimes can’t be blown out of the area for days…sometimes weeks! In Venezuela, the discovery of oil brought new wealth to the government. The same government that is supposed to regulate oil pollution and clean up. The Brazilian Rainforest are essentially the “lungs” of South America. Cutting down those plants is not such a good idea. …not to mention the destruction of wildlife and habitat for native peoples there.

The people of Latin America speak Spanish & Portuguese because those countries colonized the region. They practice Catholicism for the same reason. Latin America is a true mixed society - the people make up every variation of European, Native America, and African descent.

History: 1519-1521: Hernando Cortés captures and destroys Aztec city Tenochtítlán, will be renamed by Spanish as Mexico City. The Aztecs are led by Montezuma II. Part of the reason for their downfall is because they mistook Cortes for their god Quezquotal, who was supposed to return from across the ocean that year. The Aztec practiced human sacrifice & had floating islands.

1532: Pizarro, with 180 men, takes Peru and destroys Inca Empire. The Inca were centered at Manchu Pichu in Peru. Their leader, Atahualpa, did NOT think that the Spanish were gods, but thought he scared them away. The Spanish attacked at the victory celebration.