8th Social Studies STAAR Released Questions - 2021

How did the introduction of barbed-wire fences benefit farmers?

• By making irrigation of the land more effective

• By helping to break up the soil before plowing

• By making the harvesting of cotton more efficient

• By protecting crops from damage caused by animals

Which statement explains how the First Amendment has affected these groups?

• These groups are allowed to share and promote their beliefs.

• These groups are allowed to join together to form a national religion.

• These groups are prevented from having worship services in public places.

• These groups are prevented from establishing religious schools.

What was one way slow communication with the British government affected the American colonies?

• The colonies united for trade and defense.

• Self-government developed in the colonies.

• Smuggling of goods in the colonies decreased.

• The colonies petitioned the government to establish a navy.

Which statement shows how this excerpt is an example of transcendentalism in the early-to-mid 1800s?

• Thoreau uses reason to explain natural events that happen in the world.

• Thoreau focuses on the role of science in changing the natural world.

• Thoreau studies the relationship between nature and historical events.

• Thoreau focuses on the relationship between humans and the natural world.

What was an IMMEDIATE effect of this amendment?

• Many plantation owners attempted to recapture former slaves.

• Many plantation owners were forced to give land to former slaves.

• Many former slaves became sharecroppers to earn a living.

• Many former slaves were awarded money by former Confederate leaders.

Which era is represented by this photograph?

• The early republic

• The Age of Jackson

• Westward expansion

• Civil War

In which court case was the U.S. principle of judicial review established?

• McCulloch v. Maryland

• Gibbons v. Ogden

• Marbury v. Madison

• Dred Scott v. Sandford

Which physical characteristic attracted settlers to this area during the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries?

• Large amounts of fertile soil for crops

• Accessible mountain passes for mining

• Natural harbors for whaling

• Grassy plains for cattle ranching

Why did many farmers, artisans, and former Anti-Federalists support the Democratic-Republican Party?

• The Democratic-Republicans favored the expansion of a strong national government.

• The Democratic-Republicans supported strict restrictions on immigration.

• The Democratic-Republicans supported the use of tariffs.

• The Democratic-Republicans favored states’ rights and the rights of the common man.

Which statement explains how the work of Dorothea Dix benefited U.S. society?

• Mental-health facilities were opened to treat patients.

• Doctors were required to get federal licenses to practice medicine.

• States passed laws giving harsher sentences to criminals.

• The government distributed land to poor people.