8th Grade STAAR Review - High Leverage TEKS

What is the significance of the Pilgrims arrival in America?

• It led to an alliance between the British and the French

• It led to an early attempt at self government in the colonies

• It caused Puritans to separate from the Church of England

• It introduced the slave trade to the Atlantic colonies

Answer explanation

The Pilgrims fled England because they were being persecuted for their religious beliefs. When they came to the Americas their original goal was to land near Jamestown. Due to a storm they ended up in New England. Before they got off the boat they established rules for the colony, the Mayflower Compact. It was the first form of self government in the colonies. Also established the principle of majority rule.

Which of these describes the primary reason for French colonization?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

Answer explanation

France Found FUR

beaver fur/pelts

France - friendly with natives

Which reasons correctly replace the numbers in this table?

• F

• G

• H

• J

Answer explanation

Jamestown, Virginia was established in 1607 for economic purposes, they were looking for gold.

Plymouth Massachusetts and Massachusetts Bay were both established for religious freedom for the Pilgrims and the Puritans.

In the early days of the colonies, a belief in these rights helped lead to -

• establishment of royal courts

• the growth of representative government

• the implementation of the mercantile system

• the abolishment of indentured servitude

Answer explanation

Due to the distance of the colonies from Great Britain, colonists formed their own governments to establish rules and laws. This was known as representative government, because they elected officials to represent them.

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

Why is this sequence of events important?

• colonists created a legislature with two houses

• colonists declared independence from English rule

• colonists defended the concept of unalienable rights

• colonists established a tradition of self-government

During the colonial period, what was one difference between slave labor in the North and slave labor in the South?

• more slaves in the North worked in gold mines

• more slaves in the North worked in cash-crop production

• more slaves in the North worked trade-related jobs

• more slaves in the North worked as craftsmen on plantations

Answer explanation

Due to the climate and geography of the North, it was not suitable for the economic activity of agriculture. For this reason there were very few farms and no plantations. Slaves who did live in the North often worked in homes or at trade jobs were they needed to know a certain skill.

Which human geographic factor most likely prompted this observation?

• F

• G

• H

• J

Answer explanation

Spanish land claims were in central America, including Florida. Georgia is connected to Florida, they share a border.

Which effects correctly replace the numbers in this cause-and-effect diagram?

• F

• G

• H

• J

Answer explanation

New England colonies - cold climate, rocky soil

shipbuilding, whaling, fishing, lumber, trade, shipping

Southern colonies - fertile soil and long summers

agriculture, plantations, cash crops, slavery

Boston, Massachusetts, and San Francisco, California, are geographically similar in that they BOTH -

• have a Mediterranean climate

• are located near active volcanoes

• have a hot desert climate

• are located on a coast

Answer explanation