STAAR Review II 8th Grade Social Studies

What is the movement of people from rural to urban areas called?

• ruralization
• colonization
• inflation
• urbanization

What effect did the steam engine have on factories?

• Factories still had to be located next to rivers and streams.
• Factories could be located anywhere.
• The production of factories decreased.
• Factories were closing down.

What is the process in which a society transforms from agriculture to manufacturing?

• Socialism
• Industrialization
• Social Darwinism
• Collective Bargaining

Which individual is given credit for the steel blast furnace and the process of mass producing steel?

• Eli Whitney
• Henry Bessmer
• Alexander Bell
• Thomas Edison

What effect did the cotton gin have on cotton?

• Cotton was more expensive.
• Cotton could not be produce quickly.
• Cotton was made cheaper.
• The value of cotton decreased.

What was one major effect of the opening of the Erie Canal?

• The volume of trade passing through southern ports increased.
• The cost of shipping goods from the Midwest decreased. 
• The number of ships passing through northern ports decreased.
• The cost of shipping goods on eastern roads increased. 

An economic system in which businesses have the freedom to operate competitively for profit with minimal government regulations.

• Free Enterprise
• Mercantilism
• Profit

An invention by Eli Whitney that speeded the cleaning of cotton fibers and in effect, increased the need for slaves.

• Steamboat
• Mechanical Reaper
• Steel Plow
• Cotton Gin

What was the purpose of labor unions?

• Negotiate as a group for bigger factories
• Negotiate as a group for better working conditions
• Negotiate as a group for a political revolution
• Negotiate as a group for a social revolution

This machine separated the seed from cotton fibers.

• Spinning Mule
• Spinning Jenny
• Steam Engine
• Cotton Gin