Third Grade CRCT Study Guide for Social Studies

1. Third Grade CRCT Study Guide for Social Studies

2. Economics What is economics? Economics has to do with making, buying, and selling things that people want or need. People usually use money to buy the things they need. These things are called goods. Goods include things like food, clothes, houses or cars. Anything that people buy or sell is called goods. When people do a job in exchange for money, they are providing service to people. This is called a service. Some examples of service providers are doctors, mechanics, or teachers. Services are any kind of work that people do for other people. Money people earn is called income. People have to decide what goods and services they want to spend their income to buy. Sometimes people have to give up one thing to buy something they really want or need. This is called opportunity cost. For example, if you really want to save your money to spend at Six Flags, you may have to give up buying your favorite toy at the store. Opportunity cost is the thing people give up to do what they most want.

3. A scarcity is a lack of goods and services. Scarcity takes place when the people who make goods and services cannot provide enough for everyone who wants them. For example, if everyone wanted to buy a bicycle this week, and all the stores sold out before everyone who wanted one got one; that would be scarcity. More bicycles would need to be made. This is called supply and demand. Supply is how much of a product companies make. Companies make more of what people want. Companies make less of the things people are not buying. The people who make goods are called producers. The people who use goods are called consumers. We are all consumers. When a product is in demand, its price may go up. For example, if the orange crops were frozen and people wanted to buy orange juice, we would have a scarcity of orange juice. Then, demand would go up and the price or orange juice would also go up.

4. The United States Government • A government is an organization that oversees affairs for a group. It creates and enforces laws and provides services. People create governments to protect societies, as well as individuals. They are an important part of human life and history. Governments have existed in many forms. People have had many ideas on how to best support their society. There have been experiments with government forms such as monarchy, totalitarianism, dictatorship, and democracy. • In a monarchy, a king or queen governs. A monarch rules for life and then hands the title down to his or her oldest child. A totalitarianism government is controlled by a small group of people from a single political party. It has control over every part of the people’s lives. The people have few individual freedoms. A dictatorship is run by a single ruler who holds all the government’s power. This person keeps power by demanding obedience from the people and by using violence. • One of the first large-scale experiments with democracy was in the United States. Democracy means “rule by the people.” In this system, the people have the final say in how their government is run. As a result, citizens can limit their government’s power. In a democracy, all citizens have the same individual rights. These rights are protected by a government that the people control. Citizens exercise control by voting in free elections. The majority makes the final decision. In the United States, citizens who are 18 or older elect a president and representatives to government positions. So, the government is run by and for the citizens. • The United States began as 13 colonies. They were controlled by England and its monarch. The colonies did not like being governed by England or by a monarch. So, from 1775 to 1783, the colonists fought for their independence in the Revolutionary War. They created their own government and founded the United States. This first government was established by the Articles of Confederation. It gave the states a lot of individual power. However, problems arose when the states could not work together. The central government did not have the power to keep control. • In 1787, the Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia. They knew the country needed a stronger central government. However, they did not want it to have the power to take control away from the people. In the end, they created the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. It guarantees the equality and individual rights of the people. The Constitution maps out the central, or federal, government. It divides the federal (national) government into three branches. They are the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. • One branch, Congress, is the legislative branch. Citizens elect representatives to serve in Congress. The legislative branch makes laws for the whole country. The President is head of the executive branch. Citizens vote to decide who will be President. The President can approve or stop laws made by Congress. The executive branch of government makes sure laws are carried out. The third branch of government is the judicial branch. The Supreme Court is the head of the judicial branch. The courts decide what laws mean and if they obey the Constitution. • This division of the government into separate branches is called separation of powers. The Founding Fathers did this in order to keep the central government from gaining too much power. Each branch has its own duties, which are separate from the other two. Separation of powers limits what each branch of government can do. When branches of government have different powers, no branch of government can become too strong. Each branch can stop the other from doing certain things. This is called checks and balances. For example, the President makes treaties and chooses judges. Congress can reject these treaties and chooses judges. Congress makes laws. The President can veto these laws. The courts can decide if a law follows the Constitution. A law that is found unconstitutional is no longer in effect. • Each state in the United States has its own government. They share power with the central government. This is called federalism. This design was laid out by the Constitution. The states create their own governments. State governments have power over local issues. States, for example, control education and elections. The national government, for instance, has power over national issues. This includes defense, printing money, the postal service, and trade. National laws are stronger than state laws. Both national and state governments collect taxes and set up courts. National and state governments have their own jobs.

5. In 1787 an amazing American document was written by our Founding Fathers in Philadelphia. This unique document was the Constitution of the United States. It told us how our government should work. What makes our Constitution so amazing and unique? • Even though the Constitution was written so long ago, it still works very well today. That is because of the wise ideas contained in it. In the Preamble (opening paragraph), our founding fathers wrote about keeping liberty alive. • The rest of the Constitution talks about our government. Our forefathers set up three parts (branches) of government. One branch (Congress) makes the laws. The second branch (the President) makes sure the laws are obeyed. The third branch (the courts) tells what the laws mean. Our forefathers made sure that all three branches would share power. This is called separation of powers. Also, each branch would be able to limit, or check, the power of the other branches. This is called checks and balances. The powers and duties of government would also be divided between the national government and the states. This is called a federal system. • Finally, our forefathers provided a way to change our Constitution in a peaceful, orderly way. This is the amendment process. There have been 27 amendments to the Constitution. • Because of the wisdom of our founding fathers, the United States has been able to show the world that a new nation could begin a democracy with order and peace. Our Constitution continues to stand as a model for the world.

6. Judicial Branch The third government power is the judicial branch. Its duty is to review how laws are used. To do this, Article III of the Constitution created the U.S. Supreme Court. It also granted Congress the power to create other courts. • The federal courts settle disputes involving federal laws or the Constitution. They also hear cases between citizens and the federal government. The federal courts may decide cases between individuals or groups from different states. And, they hear cases involving other countries. • The Supreme Court is the nation’s highest court. It has the final word on whether a law is constitutional. The court is made up of nine justices. One chief justice leads eight associate justices. • In 1789, Congress passed the Judiciary Act. This established the lower federal court system. It includes trial courts, which are known as federal district courts. The United States has 94 district courts, with at least one in each state. There are also courts in U.S. territories such as Guam. • The federal court system also has appellate courts. If a case is challenged, one of these courts will review the decision made by the district court. There are 12 appellate courts and one Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Each represents an area called a circuit. • The judicial branch also includes two special courts. The Court of International Trade deals with cases involving international trade and customs issues. The Court of Federal Claims settles cases against the federal government. • There are also courts that are technically a part of the executive branch. They include the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Court of Military Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Although these courts are part of the executive branch, appeals of their decisions can be taken to the judicial appellate courts.

7. Executive Branch • The executive branch was created by Article II of the Constitution. Its duty is to carry out the laws created by the legislature. This branch is made up of the office of the president and a number of departments and agencies. • The president is in charge of the executive branch. He or she is often called the chief executive officer. This position is elected every four years through a system called the Electoral College. The president may only serve two terms. • The U.S. president is chosen in an indirect election. Instead of electing the president, voters actually choose electors to represent them. Each state has the same number of electors as it has members in the U.S. Congress. Together, the electors are called the Electoral College. • The Electoral College meets in December to cast votes for president and vice president. The electors usually base their votes on how the people of their home states voted. In January, Congress counts the votes. The candidate with more than half of the electoral votes wins. • The chief executive officer has several duties, such as dealing with laws. He or she suggests laws and develops programs to solve national issues. The president also reviews bills passed by Congress. • The executive branch also enforces laws. This is done through 15 departments. The heads of the departments are appointed by the president and make up the cabinet. These people give the president advice. In addition, many independent agencies create rules and programs for the nation. • Another duty of the president is to serve as commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces. The president appoints chief military officers. He or she also decides how large the military will be. • In addition, the president directs the country’s dealings with other nations. He or she makes treaties and appoints ambassadors. The president also suggests laws dealing with international affairs. The secretary of state advises him or her in this area. • The vice president works with the president. This person takes over if the president cannot do his or her job. If the chief executive resigns or dies, the vice president becomes president. • The vice president also attends meetings of the president’s cabinet. He or she is a member of the Domestic Council, which recommends policies to the president. In addition, the vice president serves on the National Security Council.

8. Legislative Branch • The legislative branch of the U.S. government was created by Article I of the Constitution. This branch is a bicameral legislature. This means it is divided into two parts with equal power. They are the House of Representatives and the Senate. • Together, the House and the Senate are called Congress. Members of Congress meet in Washington, D.C. Their main job is to write and pass laws. • The House of Representatives has 435 members. The state’s population determines the number of representatives in each state. Members serve two-year terms. The entire House is up for election every even-numbered year. • Members of the House select a Speaker of the House to lead. The Speaker sends proposed laws to committee discussions and assigns people to special committees. He or she also schedules debates and votes in the case of a tie. • The Senate is smaller than the House. It is made up of 100 senators, two from each state. Senators are elected for six-year terms. Every two years, about one-third of the Senate’s seats come up for election. • The vice president of the United States serves as president of the Senate. He or she votes in senatorial debates if there is a tie. When the vice president is absent, the Senate chooses a president pro tempore, or “president for the time.” • In both houses, the political parties each choose a majority leader and a minority leader. These leaders arrange schedules and plan the lawmaking strategies of their parties. The parties also choose assistants called whips. • Congress considers thousands of laws every year. A law begins as an idea. When a member of the General Assembly believes that a new law is needed, the legislator writes down the idea as he or she believes the new law should be stated. The written statement is called a bill. A bill can begin in the House of Representatives or in the Senate. The member offers it his or her legislative body- the House or the Senate. Next, the bill is read to that legislative body. • The bill is then sent to a committee for study. There are committees for each of the major subjects with which Congress deals. The committee holds open hearings about the bill. Then it reviews the bill and may make recommendations as to whether the bill should be passed. The bill is sent back to the House or Senate. There, it is voted on and either passed or defeated. • If a bill is passed by one house, it goes on to the other house for another vote. After both houses pass the bill, it is sent to the President. The President either signs the bill or vetoes it. If the President signs the bill, it becomes law. However, a vetoed bill can still become a law if two-thirds of the members of each house over-ride the veto.

9. PAUL REVERE (Independence) • Born: January 1, 1735 in Boston, Massachusetts, Died: May 10, 1818 • Paul Revere was born in the colony of Massachusetts, one of 13 British colonies in North America. During his lifetime a growing dislike for British rule and a strong desire for freedom grew and grew in the colonies. An organization called “The Sons of Liberty” had chapters throughout the colonies and Revere became a member of this group in Boston while a young man. • The British imposed new taxes and many unpopular laws on the colonists. These taxes and laws were disliked by the colonists. The colonists became upset and began to want independence, or freedom, from Britain’s rule. • In the 1760s, there were numerous conflicts between the American “patriots” and the British in many colonies. One famous incident was the Boston Tea Party that took place in 1773. • As a member of the “Sons of Liberty”, Paul Revere took part in the famous Boston Tea Party. In protest to the high taxes placed on imported tea by the British, members of the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Indians, boarded three ships in the Boston Harbor and threw overboard hundreds of bales of tea. They did not want to pay taxes imposed by the British if the people who had to pay them did not have representatives voting for the taxes. Their cry was “No taxation without representation!” • On April 18, 1775 Revere was sent to give warning that the British troops planned to march from Boston toward the towns of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. The British knew that Patriot (colonial) leaders were preparing to fight them there. British soldiers wanted to destroy the Patriots’ supplies and weapons. They also wanted to capture their leaders. Patriots in Boston found out about the British plans and asked Paul Revere to warn people in Lexington that British soldiers were coming. Paul Revere was told to keep watch. He was to look for a signal. If two lanterns were hung from the steeple of the Old North Church in Boston it meant the British were approaching by sea. If one lantern was hung on the church steeple, it would mean they were coming by land. • When Revere saw one lantern on the steeple, he left Boston on horseback and gave warning to other patriots to prepare because the British soldiers were coming. When the British arrived, the colonial minutemen (soldiers) were waiting for them. This was known as Paul Revere’s “Midnight Ride”. On April 19, 1775, British soldiers marched into Lexington. The colonial soldiers stood waiting for them. The British ordered the soldiers to leave. Then there was a shot. Then more shooting began. The battle at Lexington was the first battle of the American Revolution. A second battle followed in Concord. • Over the next eight years, the colonists in the 13 colonies fought many battles against the British. They won some and lost some in their long struggle. Battles took place from Savannah to Boston and every colony in between. Terrible battles were fought in Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia (all named after British kings and queens) as well as in the north. Many brave patriots lost their lives fighting. • It wasn’t until November 1783 that the Treaty of Paris was signed ending the war. A free and independent United States of America was born. • Paul Revere is one of many patriots that are remembered to this day for the important part he played in helping our nation gain independence from Britain.

10. THURGOOD MARSHALL (Civil Rights) • Born: July 2, 1908. Baltimore, Maryland; Died: January 24, 1993, Washington, D.C. • Thurgood Marshall’s career was in law. He went to Howard University Law School where African Americans were accepted. Many schools in the 1940s and 1950s did not accept African Americans. As a lawyer, he worked to change this. He wanted justice, or fair laws, for African Americans. In 1954, Marshall was on the team of lawyers in the historic Supreme Court trial concerning school desegregation, Brown v. Board of Education (1954). The Supreme Court agreed that separate schools for African Americans were not legal. Marshall won his biggest case. Marshall’s efforts helped open all schools to African Americans. As a result of this trial, the "separate but equal" doctrine in public education was overthrown. • After many years as a successful lawyer and judge fighting for civil rights and women's rights, Marshall was appointed to the high court in 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. On the high court, Marshall continued his fight for human rights until he retired on June 27, 1991.

11. Frederick Douglass 1817–1895 Abolitionist- Civil Rights Frederick Douglass knew from experience that slavery was wrong. Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland. He began rebelling against slavery as a boy. He secretly taught himself to read and write. He formed a secret school for other enslaved African-Americans. When he was twenty, Douglass dressed himself as a sailor and escaped to New York. He lived in New York as a free man. Douglass later moved to Massachusetts. He met other abolitionists (a boh LISH uhn ists). Abolitionists were people who wanted to end slavery. Douglass gave speeches about the cruelty of slavery. He wrote a book about his early life as an enslaved person. Douglass started a newspaper, the North Star. He wrote about the work abolitionists were doing. He also helped hide enslaved people who had escaped to the North. Douglass asked President Lincoln to end slavery. He argued that African Americans should be allowed to fight in the Civil War. Even after slavery was outlawed, Douglass kept working for change. “The work of abolitionists is not done,” Douglass said. He saw that all African-Americans were not yet treated equally. Douglass kept fighting for equal rights for the rest of his life.

12. Eleanor Roosevelt 1884–1962Social Reformer, Diplomat, and First Lady • Eleanor Roosevelt spent much of her life trying to make other people's lives better. When she was a teenager, Roosevelt began working at a settlement house in New York. A settlement house was a place for people who needed food and shelter. “There is joy in accomplishing good,” she said. • Later, Eleanor Roosevelt married. Her husband, Franklin Roosevelt, was elected President of the United States in 1932. As First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt worked for equal rights for womenand African Americans. She also spoke about the rights of children and helped people living in poverty. While she was First Lady, Roosevelt gave over seventy speeches every year. She wrote 2,500 newspaper columns and published six books. • In 1945, Roosevelt began working at the United Nations. The United Nations is a group of people from many different countries, working to promote peace. The group helps people around the world get food, medicine, and other things they need. Roosevelt visited many countries while she worked with the United Nations. She became known as “the first lady of the world” because she defended the rights of people around the globe.

13. Susan Brownell Anthony 1820-1906 American reformer and leader of the women's suffrage movement • Born in Adams, MA • Daughter of Daniel Anthony, Quaker abolitionist • Teacher in rural New York state at 17 years old Susan B. Anthony believed that women had the same rights as men. However, in the 1800s women could not vote. Anthony worked diligently to change that. She declared, “Failure is impossible.” Anthony gave speeches all across the United States about the importance of voting in a democracy. She wanted to convince people to support women’s right to vote. If enough people agreed with her, they could change the constitution. In 1897, she said, ”There never will be complete equality until women themselves help to make laws and elect lawmakers.” In 1920, the Constitution was changed to approve women’s right to vote in every state. Facts • Fought for equal pay for women teachers, for coeducation, and for college training for girls • Organized the first woman's temperance association, the Daughters of Temperance • Met Elizabeth Cady Stanton at a temperance meeting in 1851 and became a close personal friend • Until Stanton's death in 1902, Anthony and Stanton were leaders of the women's suffrage movement in the U.S. • Lectured on women's rights and abolition from 1851 to 1860 • Helped to pass the first laws (with Stanton) in the New York state legislature to guarantee women rights over their children and control of property and wages • In 1863 Anthony co-organized the Women's Loyal League to support Lincoln's government, especially his emancipation policy • After the Civil War, she opposed granting suffrage to freedmen without also giving it to women (division existed among women's suffrage sympathizers on this issue) • Anthony and Stanton organized the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869 • National Woman Suffrage Association united with the American Woman Suffrage Association to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1890 • Anthony was President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association from 1892 to 1900 • She led a group of women in 1872 to vote in Rochester, NY, to test their rights under the terms of the 14th Amendment • Anthony was arrested, tried, and sentenced to a fine (which she refused to pay) • Other women followed her example until the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case against them • Beginning in 1869, she traveled and lectured throughout the U.S. and Europe • Anthony possessed superior intellect, a strong personality, and unswerving commitment to the suffrage movement • With Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Matilda Joslyn Gage, she compiled Volumes I, II, and III of the History of Woman Suffrage (1881-1886) • She used her own financial resources to buy most of the first edition • She presented the History of Woman Suffrage to colleges and universities in the U.S. and Europe • The History of Woman Suffrage was completed by Ida Husted Harper (Vol. IV, V, and VI, 1900-1922; Anthony contributed to Vol. IV)

14. Mary McLeod Bethune • 1875-1955EducatorBirthplace: Mayesville, SCGraduate of Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, 1895 • The 17th child of former slaves, Mary McLeod Bethune taught in a series of southern mission schools (1895–1903) before settling in Florida to found the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls (1904). From 1904 to 1942, and again from 1946 to 1947, she served as president of the institute, which, after merging with Cookman Institute (1923), became Bethune-Cookman College. A leader in the American black community, she founded the National Council of Negro Women (1935) and was director of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration from 1936 to 1944. In addition, she served as special adviser on minority affairs to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. At the 1945 conference that organized the United Nations, she was a consultant on interracial understanding.

15. Franklin Delano Roosevelt 32nd President, 1933–1945 (The New Deal and World War 2) • Born: January 30, 1882 at Hyde Park, New York Died: April 12, 1945 • Party: Democrat Nickname: FDR • Education: Graduate of Harvard University, attended Columbia Law School Facts • Former president Theodore Roosevelt was Franklin’s fifth cousin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s uncle. It was Teddy Roosevelt who gave his niece Eleanor in marriage to Franklin. • Roosevelt served in the New York State Senate and served as governor of New York State. • In 1921, Roosevelt got a serious disease called poliomyelitis that affected his ability to walk. Although he was partially paralyzed, he continued his political career. • In 1929, a long period of hard economic times called the Great Depression began. • FDR began a series of informal radio talks called fireside chats to inform the nation about the poor economic conditions and how the government planned to help people get through the Depression. • Franklin D. Roosevelt made some of the most important economic choices in U.S. history. The United States’ economy was not doing well when Roosevelt became President in 1933. Many businesses and banks closed. Millions of workers lost their jobs. President Roosevelt thought about how to help. In the 1930s, he signed a series of laws called the New Deal. New Deal programs created jobs and helped the economy. Millions of people got jobs through the New Deal programs. They worked on farms, in construction, and as artists. • Many Americans loved Roosevelt for the help the New Deal gave them. When he ran for President again, he was reelected. He was the first and only person elected to four terms as president. • In Germany and Italy, dictators had gained power. In 1939, Great Britain and France went to war against these dictatorships. Soon other nations joined the fighting. Many Americans did not want the United States to get involved because they felt that the was not their problem. Roosevelt told the U.S. people he did not want to enter the war, but thought the U.S. should help Great Britain and France firght for democracy in Europe. • On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Japan was on the side of Germany and Italy. The United States could no longer stay out of the war. It entered on the side of Great Britain and France. The war was called World War 2. • FDR’s portrait appears on one side of the dime. • He was the first president to appear on television. • He was the first and only person elected to four terms as president.

16. Lyndon Baines Johnson • Lyndon B. Johnson was born in Texas with a rural background. He was 55 years old when he took the oath as president of the United States after John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas on 22 November 1963. • His career started in the 1930s as an aide to a Texas congressman, then as the director of the New Deal's National Youth Administration in Texas. In 1936 he became a congressman with close personal ties to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In 1948 he became senator. He campaigned to become the Democratic party's nominee for the presidency in 1960. However, the Democratic convention chose John F. Kennedy as the Democratic nominee and Johnson became Kennedy's Vice-president. • When Kennedy was assassinated, Johnson had twenty-six years of political experience and was ready for the job as 36th president of the United States of America. • LBJ established domestic politics as his first priority and declared that he would follow JFK's programs. Civil rights and a 'war on poverty' were two of his biggest issues and were in the tradition of the New Deal. After his landslide victory in the 1964 election he introduced his brainchild 'Great Society', which initiatives aimed at improving the health, nutrition and education of (poor) Americans. The ambitious Great Society had its greatest successes in its first years, notably the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed racial discrimination in public accommodations and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which ensured the right to vote for all. • At the foreign front things did not go as smoothly, however. As time proceeded, LBJ and his administration got increasingly caught up in an ever-growing quagmire in Vietnam. His decision to 'Americanise' the war in Vietnam meant an ever-growing number of American soldiers in South East Asia. At the time, however, the growing American involvement in Vietnam was not seen as ludicrous, for it was very much in line with the foreign policy principles pursued by all American presidents after WWII based on the principle of 'containment' as articulated in the Truman Doctrine. • Johnson believed that it was America's duty to be involved in Vietnam in order to prevent it from falling to communism -in other words: to prevent North Vietnam and the Viet Cong (VC) from winning. As the war progressed, opposition to the growing involvement, the increasing amount of casualties and destruction mounted. • After the Tet-offensive, on January 31 1968, LBJ's popularity was at an all-time low. On March 31 of that same year he appeared on national television announcing that the bombing of North Vietnam would come to an end -except for the parts close to the DMZ. The war in Vietnam had left Lyndon Johnson broken. In that same speech he made public his decision not to run again for the United States Presidency. • He left the political scene and died a few years later. LBJ would go into history as the man who dragged America into the Vietnam war, as a racist fighting a racist war. Despite his ambitious Great Society, which certainly had been successful, especially in its early years, Johnson's name would forever be associated with the disaster in Vietnam.

17. Cesar Chavez: Labor Leader • Cesar Estrada Chavez (March 31, 1927 - April 23, 1993) was a Mexican-American labor leader who used non-violent methods to fight for the rights of migrant farm workers in the southwestern USA. Migrant farm workers are people who do farm labor, moving from farm to farm and from town to town as their work is needed - it is difficult work that pays very little and can be dangerous due to the use of pesticides (pesticides are chemicals that kill bugs and can make people sick). • Chavez founded a group that advocates for the rights of farm workers, acting to increase wages and improve the working conditions and safety of farm workers. He also organized strikes (when workers refuse to work until improved working conditions and salary demands are met) and nation-wide boycotts of agricultural products in order to help workers (a boycott is a protest in which the public is asked not to buy certain products). Chavez went on many hunger strikes, refusing to eat until violence against strikers ended and until legislators (law makers) voted to make laws improving the lives of farm workers. He was also jailed many times during his fight against terrible migrant worker conditions. • Early Life:Chavez was born in San Luis, Arizona, near Yuma. His family had lived there since his grandfather immigrated from Mexico. • His parents, Librado and Juana, owned a farm and store. The family lost the farm when Cesar was 10 years old (during the Great Depression), and became migrant farm workers. As a youth, Cesar worked part-time in the farm fields with his family in Arizona and California as they moved from farm to farm, harvesting the fields. After graduating from 8th grade, Cesar started working full-time in the fields to help support his family (this was necessary because his father, Librado, had been injured in a car accident). • Cesar served in the US Navy during World War 2. When Cesar Chavez returned from the war, he labored as a farm worker in California. Chavez married Helen Fabela in 1948; they eventually had 8 children and 31 grandchildren. • Early Social Activism - Sí, Se Puede (Yes, it can be done):Chavez and his wife taught Mexican immigrants to read and organized voting registration drives for new US citizens. Chavez was greatly influenced by the peaceful philosophy of St. Francis of Assisi and Mohandas Gandhi. He joined the Community Service Organization, an organization that worked for the rights of farm workers. • Starting a Union, Organizing Strikes and Boycotts - La Huelga (The Strike):In 1962, Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and Gilbert Padilla started a union (a workers' rights group), called the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), to fight for "La Causa" (Spanish for "The Cause"). The NFWA organized "huelgas" (the Spanish word for "strikes"). There were many bitter and violent fights between the grape growers and the workers; Chavez and many union people were jailed in the struggle. Some agreements were eventually made between the farm workers union and the growers. In order to force growers to further improve farm worker conditions, Chavez organized a nation-wide lettuce boycott. • In 1968, Chavez organized a five-year "grape boycott," a movement that urged people to stop buying California grapes until farm workers had contracts insuring better pay and safer working conditions. The name of the union was changed to the United Farm Workers (the UFW) in 1974. In 1978, when some of the workers' demands were met, the boycotts of lettuce and grapes were lifted. • A Lifetime Quest for Social Justice - Viva La Causa (Long Live The Cause):Chavez's motto was "Si, se puede." (meaning "Yes, it can be done.") and he proved it to be true. His work for the fair treatment of farm workers changed the lives of millions of people for the better. • After a lifetime of valiantly working for social justice, Chavez died of natural causes at the age of 66 (in 1993). In 1994, Chavez was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously (after his death). To this day, the UFW and Chavez's children and grandchildren continue his fight for social justice.