NYSTCE CST Social Studies Exam
2025 Questions and Answers 100%
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Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Civilizations - ✔✔Maya- 2000 bc- 1697 ad
Aztec-Ethnic groups of central Mexico dominant in large areas of Mesoamerica in the
14th-16th centuries
Pre-Columbian Andean Civilizations - ✔✔Inca- largest pre-columbian empire in 15th-
16th centuries
Moche- northern Peru between 100-800- Huaca del Sol
Cañaris- Southern Equador- eventually conquered by Inca
Pilgrims - ✔✔English Separatists who believed there was no fixing Church of England-
embarked on Mayflower in 1620- established Plymouth plantation
William Bradford - ✔✔A Pilgrim, the second governor of the Plymouth colony, 1621-
1657. He developed private land ownership and helped colonists get out of debt. He
helped the colony survive droughts, crop failures, and Indian attacks.
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,Mayflower Compact - ✔✔1620 - The first agreement for self-government in America. It
was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower and set up a government for the Plymouth
colony.
Conquistadors - ✔✔Spanish soldiers and explorers who led military expeditions in the
Americas and captured land for Spain- first used natives as slaves until their
populations were decimated by European disease and overwork- replaced by imported
African slaves
Encomienda System - ✔✔A system whereby the Spanish crown granted the conquerors
the right to tax local Indians or to demand their labor in exchange for protecting them
and teaching them skills, a disguised form of slavery
Hacienda System - ✔✔Rural estates in Spanish colonies in New World; produced
agricultural products for consumers in America; basis of wealth and power for the local
aristocracy. Similar to the feudal system, Natives got money and had to buy their
products from their owners
Benedict Arnold - ✔✔American General who was labeled a traitor when he assisted the
British in a failed attempt to take the American fort at West Point.
Olive Branch Petition - ✔✔On July 8, 1775, the Second Continental Congress made a
final offer of peace to Britain, agreeing to be loyal to the British government if it
addressed their grievances (repealed the Coercive Acts, ended the taxation without
representation policies). It was rejected by Parliament, which in December 1775 passed
the American Prohibitory Act forbidding all further trade with the colonies.
Prohibitory Act - ✔✔Following the rejection of the Olive Branch Petition- Act of
Parliament (1775) which removed British protection from the colonies.
James Madison - ✔✔"Father of the Constitution," Federalist leader, and fourth President
of the United States.
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, Virginia Plan - ✔✔Virginia delegate James Madison's plan of government, in which
states got a number of representatives in Congress based on their population
New Jersey Plan - ✔✔The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for
equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the state's population.
Connecticut Compromise - ✔✔The compromise reached at the Constitutional
Convention that established two houses of Congress: the House of Representatives, in
which representation is based on a state's share of the U.S. population, and the Senate,
in which each state has two representatives.
Navigation Acts - ✔✔Acts passed in 1660 passed by British parliament to increase
colonial dependence on Great Britain for trade; limited goods that were exported to
colonies; caused great resentment in American colonies.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo - ✔✔(1848) treaty signed by the U.S. and Mexico that
officially ended the Mexican-American War; Mexico had to give up much of its
northern territory to the U.S (Mexican Cession); in exchange the U.S. gave Mexico $15
million and said that Mexicans living in the lands of the Mexican Cession would be
protected
Battle of Chapultepec - ✔✔sept 12 1847 victory over Mexican forces holding down
Chapultepec castle west of Mexico City during the Mexican American war. Winfield
Scott led the attack. US victory
Tenure of Office Act - ✔✔1866 - Enacted by radical Congress, it forbade the president
from removing civil officers without consent of the Senate. It was meant to prevent
Johnson from removing radicals from office. Johnson broke this law when he fired a
radical Republican from his cabinet, and he was impeached for this "crime".
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY GRACE AMELIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
2025 Questions and Answers 100%
Pass
Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Civilizations - ✔✔Maya- 2000 bc- 1697 ad
Aztec-Ethnic groups of central Mexico dominant in large areas of Mesoamerica in the
14th-16th centuries
Pre-Columbian Andean Civilizations - ✔✔Inca- largest pre-columbian empire in 15th-
16th centuries
Moche- northern Peru between 100-800- Huaca del Sol
Cañaris- Southern Equador- eventually conquered by Inca
Pilgrims - ✔✔English Separatists who believed there was no fixing Church of England-
embarked on Mayflower in 1620- established Plymouth plantation
William Bradford - ✔✔A Pilgrim, the second governor of the Plymouth colony, 1621-
1657. He developed private land ownership and helped colonists get out of debt. He
helped the colony survive droughts, crop failures, and Indian attacks.
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY GRACE AMELIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
,Mayflower Compact - ✔✔1620 - The first agreement for self-government in America. It
was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower and set up a government for the Plymouth
colony.
Conquistadors - ✔✔Spanish soldiers and explorers who led military expeditions in the
Americas and captured land for Spain- first used natives as slaves until their
populations were decimated by European disease and overwork- replaced by imported
African slaves
Encomienda System - ✔✔A system whereby the Spanish crown granted the conquerors
the right to tax local Indians or to demand their labor in exchange for protecting them
and teaching them skills, a disguised form of slavery
Hacienda System - ✔✔Rural estates in Spanish colonies in New World; produced
agricultural products for consumers in America; basis of wealth and power for the local
aristocracy. Similar to the feudal system, Natives got money and had to buy their
products from their owners
Benedict Arnold - ✔✔American General who was labeled a traitor when he assisted the
British in a failed attempt to take the American fort at West Point.
Olive Branch Petition - ✔✔On July 8, 1775, the Second Continental Congress made a
final offer of peace to Britain, agreeing to be loyal to the British government if it
addressed their grievances (repealed the Coercive Acts, ended the taxation without
representation policies). It was rejected by Parliament, which in December 1775 passed
the American Prohibitory Act forbidding all further trade with the colonies.
Prohibitory Act - ✔✔Following the rejection of the Olive Branch Petition- Act of
Parliament (1775) which removed British protection from the colonies.
James Madison - ✔✔"Father of the Constitution," Federalist leader, and fourth President
of the United States.
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY GRACE AMELIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
, Virginia Plan - ✔✔Virginia delegate James Madison's plan of government, in which
states got a number of representatives in Congress based on their population
New Jersey Plan - ✔✔The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for
equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the state's population.
Connecticut Compromise - ✔✔The compromise reached at the Constitutional
Convention that established two houses of Congress: the House of Representatives, in
which representation is based on a state's share of the U.S. population, and the Senate,
in which each state has two representatives.
Navigation Acts - ✔✔Acts passed in 1660 passed by British parliament to increase
colonial dependence on Great Britain for trade; limited goods that were exported to
colonies; caused great resentment in American colonies.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo - ✔✔(1848) treaty signed by the U.S. and Mexico that
officially ended the Mexican-American War; Mexico had to give up much of its
northern territory to the U.S (Mexican Cession); in exchange the U.S. gave Mexico $15
million and said that Mexicans living in the lands of the Mexican Cession would be
protected
Battle of Chapultepec - ✔✔sept 12 1847 victory over Mexican forces holding down
Chapultepec castle west of Mexico City during the Mexican American war. Winfield
Scott led the attack. US victory
Tenure of Office Act - ✔✔1866 - Enacted by radical Congress, it forbade the president
from removing civil officers without consent of the Senate. It was meant to prevent
Johnson from removing radicals from office. Johnson broke this law when he fired a
radical Republican from his cabinet, and he was impeached for this "crime".
COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY GRACE AMELIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
