GRADE 8
Social Studies
Administered May 2021
Copyright © 2021, Texas Education Agency. All rights reserved. Reproduction of all or portions of this work is prohibited without express
written permission from the Texas Education Agency.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Social Studies
Page 3
DIRECTIONS
Read each question carefully. Determine the best answer to the question from
thefouranswerchoices provided.Thenfill in theansweronyouranswer
document.
1 How did the introduction of barbed-wire fences benefit farmers?
A
By making irrigation of the land more effective
B By helping to break up the soil before plowing
C By making the harvesting of cotton more efficient
D By protecting crops from damage caused by animals
2
Study the diagram and answer the question that follows.
Selected
U.S. Religious
Groups
Seventh-day
Adventists
Catholics
Southern
Baptists
Which statement explains how the First Amendment has affected these groups?
F These groups are allowed to share and promote their beliefs.
G These groups are allowed to join together to form a national religion.
H These groups are prevented from having worship services in public places.
J These groups are prevented from establishing religious schools.
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Studies
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3 What was one way slow communication with the British government affected the
American colonies?
A
The colonies united for trade and defense.
B Self-government developed in the colonies.
C Smuggling of goods in the colonies decreased.
D The colonies petitioned the government to establish a navy.
4
Read the excerpt and answer the question that follows.
The most sweet and tender, the most innocent and encouraging
society may be found in any natural object, even for the...most
melancholy man. There can be no very black melancholy to him
who lives in the midst of Nature and has his senses still. . . .
While I enjoy the friendship of the seasons I trust that nothing
can make life a burden to me.
—Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854
Which statement shows how this excerpt is an example of transcendentalism in the
early-to-mid 1800s?
F
Thoreau uses reason to explain natural events that happen in the world.
G Thoreau focuses on the role of science in changing the natural world.
H Thoreau studies the relationship between nature and historical events.
J Thoreau focuses on the relationship between humans and the natural world.
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5 Read the excerpt and answer the question that follows.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment
for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall
exist within the United States, or any place subject to their
jurisdiction.
—Thirteenth Amendment, U.S. Constitution
What was an IMMEDIATE effect of this amendment?
A
Many plantation owners attempted to recapture former slaves.
B Many plantation owners were forced to give land to former slaves.
C Many former slaves became sharecroppers to earn a living.
D Many former slaves were awarded money by former Confederate leaders.
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6 Study the photograph and answer the question that follows.
President Abraham Lincoln Visiting
the Battlefield at Antietam, October 3, 1862
Source: NARA
Which era is represented by this photograph?
F
The early republic
G The Age of Jackson
H Westward expansion
J Civil War
7 In which court case was the U.S. principle of judicial review established?
A
McCulloch v. Maryland
B Gibbons v. Ogden
C Marbury v. Madison
D Dred Scott v. Sandford
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Studies
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8 Study the map and answer the question that follows.
Mississippi Territory, 1798
EW
N
S
KEY
Mississippi
Territory
Which physical characteristic attracted settlers to this area during the late-eighteenth and
early-nineteenth centuries?
F Large amounts of fertile soil for crops
G Accessible mountain passes for mining
H Natural harbors for whaling
J Grassy plains for cattle ranching
9 Why did many farmers, artisans, and former Anti-Federalists support the
Democratic-Republican Party?
A
The
Democratic-Republicans favored the expansion of a strong national government.
B The Democratic-Republicans supported strict restrictions on immigration.
C The Democratic-Republicans supported the use of tariffs.
D The Democratic-Republicans favored states’ rights and the rights of the common man.
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Studies
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10 Which statement explains how the work of Dorothea Dix benefited U.S. society?
F
Mental-health facilities were opened to treat patients.
G Doctors were required to get federal licenses to practice medicine.
H States passed laws giving harsher sentences to criminals.
J The government distributed land to poor people.
11
Which statement explains one of the motivations behind Manifest Destiny?
A
“These
are the times that try men’s souls: the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot
will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country. . . .”
B “I
do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and
parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free. . . .”
C “And
that claim is by the right . . . to overspread and to possess the whole of the
continent which Providence has given us. . . .”
D
“That
it is the duty of the women of this country to secure to themselves their sacred right
to the elective franchise.”
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Studies
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12 Read the excerpt and answer the question that follows.
I am now convinced, beyond a doubt that unless some great and
capital change suddenly takes place... this Army must
inevitably be reduced to one or other of these three things.
Starve, dissolve, or disperse, in order to obtain subsistence in the
best manner they can; rest assured Sir this is not an exaggerated
picture. . . .
—General George Washington, letter to the Continental Congress,
December 23, 1777
Which of the following prompted General Washington to write this letter?
F
A shortage of Continental soldiers to maintain the siege of Yorktown
G The high number of casualties suffered during the Battle of Bunker Hill
H Low morale after the British army captured New York City
J Concern for the Continental troops during the winter at Valley Forge
13 How did sharecropping affect farmers in the South during Reconstruction?
A
By
introducing new technology for growing food
B By expanding the region’s dependence on corn production
C By making landowners buy supplies from the government
D By keeping renters in debt to landlords
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Studies
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14 Study the diagram and answer the question that follows.
New England During the Colonial Period
Depended on shipbuilding
Had excellent harbors
•
•
1
The Mid-Atlantic During the Colonial Period
Depended on farming
Had rich, fertile soil
•
•
2
Which effects correctly replace the numbers in this cause-and-effect diagram?
F (1) Used slave labor
(2) Used Chinese laborers
H (1) Established plantations
(2) Established textile factories
G (1) Exported dried fish
(2) Exported agricultural goods
J (1) Imported lumber
(2) Imported cattle
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Studies
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15 Why did Alexander Hamilton think a national bank would strengthen the central government?
A
The bank would help provide stability for the U.S. economy.
B The bank would create a monopoly that would eliminate state banks.
C The bank would encourage foreign competition for manufactured goods.
D The bank would have the power to regulate interstate commerce.
16
Boston, Massachusetts, and San Francisco, California, are geographically similar in that they
BOTH —
F
have
a Mediterranean climate
G are located near active volcanoes
H have a hot desert climate
J are located on a coast
17 What is the significance of the Pilgrims’ arrival in America?
A
It
led to an alliance between the British and the French.
B It led to an early attempt at self-government in the English colonies.
C It caused Puritans to separate from the Church of England.
D It introduced the slave trade to the Atlantic colonies.
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Studies
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18 Read the excerpt and answer the question that follows.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior
to the Civil power.
—Declaration of Independence
How was this grievance addressed by the Founding Fathers?
F
By making the president the commander in chief of the armed forces
G By requiring the president and members of Congress to take the oath of office
H By giving the president and Congress the power to make treaties
J By giving Congress the power to draft civilians into the armed forces
19
During the colonial period, what was one difference between slave labor in the North and
slave labor in the South?
A
More
slaves in the North worked in gold mines.
B More
slaves in the North worked in cash-crop production.
C More
slaves in the North worked in trade-related jobs.
D More
slaves in the North worked as craftsmen on plantations.
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Studies
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20 Read the excerpt and answer the question that follows.
In accordance with our promise on our departure from Sweden we
are sending you a few lines to tell you how and where we are
situated at present....We decided to settle in Iowa. . . . It has
an abundance of water power, contains metals, marble, and
several other natural resources, and only a very small part of this
extensive territory is settled. . . . If only half of the work
expended on the soil in the fatherland were utilized here, the
yield would reach the wildest imagination. . . .
—Peter Cassel, letter to his father in Sweden, February 9, 1846
Which reason BEST explains why many Swedish people settled in the American Midwest?
F
They wanted to work in steel mills.
G They
wanted to participate in the abolitionist movement.
H They wanted to settle in large cities.
J They wanted to find fertile farmland.
21 Why
is John Paul Jones remembered as the “Father of the American Navy”?
A
He won
naval victories against the British during the Revolutionary War.
B He
led the naval assault against the Barbary States.
C He commanded the first steam-powered warship in the U.S. Navy.
D He served as the first Secretary of the Navy.
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Timeline of the Historical Development of the ? Movement
1785 The Quakers helped to found the New York
Manumission Society.
1831 William Lloyd Garrison published The Liberator.
1847 Frederick Douglass founded the North Star.
1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
22 Study the timeline and answer the question that follows.
Which word
correctly replaces the question mark in the title of this timeline?
F Suffrage
G Abolitionist
H Temperance
J Transcendentalist
23 Which statement describes BOTH the Free-Soil Party and the Republican Party in the
mid-1800s?
A
They
supported actions to stop escaped slaves from entering the North.
B They supported enacting safety regulations to protect factory workers.
C They were against the expansion of slavery into the western territories.
D They were against the establishment of American Indian reservations.
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Studies
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24 Study the table and answer the question that follows.
Colony Reason Established
Virginia (1)
Massachusetts Bay (2)
Which reasons correctly replace the numbers in this table?
(1) To gain religious freedom
F
(2) To provide military defense
(1) To increase business profits
G
(2) To escape religious persecution
(1)
To provide military defense
H
(2)
To help benefit the poor
(1) To increase business profits
J
(2) To provide a place for criminals
25 What was one effect of the cotton gin in the United States?
A
Improved soil fertility
B Expansion of mercantilism
C Increased efficiency of crop irrigation
D Expansion of the plantation system
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Studies
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26 What was the issue in Worcester v. Georgia?
F
The taxation of Cherokee lands
G The use of subsistence farming by the Cherokee people
H The sovereignty of the Cherokee nation
J The abandonment of the Cherokee culture by its people
27
Why did President Thomas Jefferson approve the negotiations that led to the
Louisiana Purchase?
A
He
wanted to settle boundary disputes with Great Britain.
B He wanted to take control of the Mississippi River.
C He wanted to obtain land to limit Russian colonization.
D He wanted to take control of the Appalachian Mountains.
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Studies
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28 How did immigrants MOST contribute to the rapid industrialization of the United States during
the early-to-mid 1800s?
F
By serving as an inexpensive source of labor
G By raising the money needed for investment
H By introducing skilled craftsmanship in cottage industries
J By designing the methods used to mass produce goods
29
Thomas Hooker’s Fundamental Orders of Connecticut is important in U.S. political history
because it was an early colonial document that —
A
outlawed protected tariffs
B extended
suffrage to women
C provided
for the election of representatives
D proposed the creation of an independent country
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30 Which statement BEST describes the importance of the Battle of Vicksburg?
F
The Confederacy lost control of the Mississippi River.
G It was the opening engagement of the Civil War in the South.
H It was described as the bloodiest fighting of the Civil War.
J The Confederacy captured military supplies from the North.
31 Which description is an example of an unalienable right from the Declaration of
Independence?
A
Equality
— People’s education should be equal in every state.
B Wealth — People’s salaries should be dependent on their skills.
C Happiness — People can do lawful things that they enjoy.
D Patriotism — People can choose to join any of the armed forces.
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Studies
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32 Study the image and answer the question that follows.
The Constitution
does not protect
individual liberties.
The Constitution
should give more
power to the states.
Which group would have made these arguments in 1787?
F
Free-Soilers
G Anti-Federalists
H Loyalists
J Federalists
33 The Great Compromise addressed disagreements over federal representation by —
A
creating
a bicameral legislature
B enumerating the powers of the central government
C giving veto power to the executive
D establishing three branches of government
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Studies
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34 Study the map and answer the question that follows.
Principal Canals Built by 1860
Canal
KEY
The canals shown on this map caused —
F a decline in farming in areas far from the canal routes
G increased competition among cotton producers in the South
H a decline in international trade going through Atlantic port cities
J the rapid growth of urban centers along the canal routes
35 Which constitutional issue contributed to sectional conflict before the Civil War?
A
Disagreement
over the boundaries of the Oregon Territory
B Growing support for limiting female suffrage and immigration
C The limits on free speech and press included in the Alien and Sedition Acts
D Debate over the expansion of slavery into the West
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Studies
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36 Settlers in Maryland struggled to resolve various disputes in the early days of the colony. The
Maryland Assembly resolved many of those disputes in 1649 by passing a law that —
F
granted farmland to former indentured servants
G allowed men without property to vote in elections
H allowed all Christians to worship freely
J extended citizenship to all American Indians
37 What was the INITIAL reason many European explorers sailed to the Americas?
A
To
find new trade routes to Asia
B To form military alliances
C To spread Christianity to Africa
D To find new sources of cheap labor
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38 Read the headlines and answer the question that follows.
Great Britain Allows British Officials
in America Charged with
Crimes to Go to England for Trial
The Daily Star
Great Britain Authorizes Colonial
Governors to Quarter British
Soldiers in Unoccupied Buildings
The Daily Star
Great Britain Orders Closure
of Boston Harbor Until
Money Lost from Tea Is Repaid
The Daily Star
Great Britain Dissolves
Massachusetts Legislature
The Daily Star
How did the American colonists IMMEDIATELY respond to the 1774 laws described in these
headlines?
F The First Continental Congress declared war on Great Britain.
G The colonists adopted the Articles of Confederation.
H The First Continental Congress sent a list of grievances to King George III.
J The colonists adopted the Bill of Rights.
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Studies
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39 Study the diagram and answer the question that follows.
Expansion of the
transatlantic
slave trade
?
Use of slavery
in agriculture
Colonial
production of
cash crops
Which phrase BEST completes this diagram?
A Development of labor unions
B Increased enlistment in the military
C Construction of roads and railroads
D Increased profits for plantation owners
40 Read the excerpt and answer the question that follows.
The declared purpose of the compact of Union from which we have
withdrawn was “to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare,
and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity;”
and when, in the judgment of the sovereign States now
composing this Confederacy, it had . . . ceased to answer the
ends for which it was established, a peaceful appeal to the
ballot-box declared that so far as they were concerned, the
government created by that compact should cease to exist.
—President Jefferson Davis, inaugural address, February 18, 1861
How did President Abraham Lincoln react to the idea expressed in Jefferson Davis’s inaugural
address?
F Lincoln stated that the argument by the South to leave the Union was unjustified.
G Lincoln called on the U.S. Supreme Court to make a ruling on the legality of secession.
H Lincoln believed the reasoning to leave the Union was protected by the Constitution.
J Lincoln prepared to amend the Constitution in order to appease the Southern states.
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Studies
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41 How did the free enterprise system MOST benefit industrial development in the first half of the
1800s?
A
By allowing entrepreneurs to raise money and invest in companies
B By establishing quotas on immigrants
C By providing safe working conditions for factory workers
D By encouraging the government to put taxes on businesses
42
Read the passage and answer the question that follows.
In 1867 Congress passed the Reconstruction Acts of 1867. These
acts temporarily divided the South into five military districts,
outlined how governments based on universal male suffrage
would be organized, and required southern states to ratify the
Fourteenth Amendment.
Which of the following expresses a goal of the Reconstruction Acts of 1867?
F
To
restore the Democratic Party to power in the South
G To rebuild the plantation economy of the South
H To protect the rights of African Americans in the South
J To encourage former slaves to leave the South
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43 Which situation violates the Eighth Amendment protections regarding criminal punishment?
A
A protester is jailed for violent acts at a political rally.
B A person is sentenced to life in prison for shoplifting.
C A person is sentenced to ten years imprisonment for assault and robbery.
D A judge orders that an accused person be jailed until bail is paid.
44
Study the images and answer the question that follows.
Farmer Using a Steel Plow Farmer Using a Mechanical Reaper
North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy Stock Photo
Lordprice Collection/Alamy Stock Photo
Which effect did these innovations have on life in the United States?
F
Natural fertilizer became more effective.
G Harvesting season could last longer.
H Finding water to irrigate crops became easier.
J Crop production became more efficient.
BE SURE YOU HAVE RECORDED ALL OF YOUR ANSWERS
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ON THE ANSWER DOCUMENT.
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STAAR
GRADE 8
Social Studies
May 2021
