8th Grade Social Studies STAAR 2016

Which of these occurred as a result of the 15th Amendment?

• African American families divided by slavery are reunited

• Newly freed men and women move west to claim free land

• African American men voted in the 1872 presidential election

• Newly free men and women were allowed to apply for U.S. citizenship

I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say—I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.—1904

Who made this statement?

• Harriet Beecher Stowe

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton

• Harriet Tubman

• Phyllis Wheatly

During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, George Mason argued —

• against increased power for the national government

• for the dissolution of state governments

• against the passage of a bill of rights

• for the creation of a strong executive branch

Characteristics of California and Florida:

•Good climates for agriculture

•Long coastlines with natural harbors and bays

•Originally inhabited by American Indians

Which of these characteristics also describes these two states?

• Founded as work colonies for debtors

• Former slave states

• Were havens for religious dissenters

• Former Spanish colonies

What was one result of the Treaty of Paris of 1783?

• Great Britain recognized the United States as an independent country.

• Competing Seminole and Spanish claims in West Florida were resolved

• The British navy agreed to stop pressing American sailors into service.

• British territory in eastern Canada was ceded to France.

Which of the following was an argument made against slavery in the Thirteen Colonies?

• Manufacturers argued that slavery discouraged the development of industry.

• Farmers argued that using slave labor was expensive and inefficient.

• Quakers argued that slavery violated Christian principles.

• Puritans argued that the slave trade encouraged materialism.

How did the War of 1812 most affect the U.S. economy?

• Disruption in trade contributed to domestic industrial growth.

• Small farmers benefited from higher export prices for grain crops.

• The sale of treasury bonds to international companies was prohibited.

• New trade alliances resulted in increased foreign investment.

How did this invention contribute to the expansion of the plantation system?

• By reducing the number of slaves needed for growing cotton

• By increasing the time needed to cultivate cotton

• By increasing the profitability of slavery

• By reducing the demand for raw cotton

Which of these occurred during early U.S. industrialization?

• Manufacturers instituted a five-day workweek.

• Labor laws required factories to provide a safe working environment.

• Workers were required to attend schools to develop technical skills.

• Production of goods transitioned from homes to factories.

What was one reason James K. Polk won the presidential election of 1844?

• He was against removing American Indians from their native lands.

• He favored the policy of popular sovereignty in the Kansas and Nebraska territories.

• He was committed to fulfilling the goals of Manifest Destiny.

• He opposed the extension of slavery west of the Mississippi River.