STAAR US History Practice Test

Which phrase best represents the US principle of republicanism?

• The creation of a Congress to carry out the will of the people

• The establishment of courts to interpret laws and government actions

• The division of power between a federal government and state governments

• The power of a court to declare a law unconstitutional

Which reason best completes the diagram?

• Requirements of an alliance with France

• Interest in conquering territories in South America

• British impressment of US sailors

• Abolition of state militias

This excerpt supports the conclusion that Jefferson disagreed with -

• the congressional power of impeachment

• the presidential power to veto bills

• the states' power to amend the Constitution

• the Supreme Court's power of judicial review

Which inference about the Know-Nothing Party is supported by the excerpt above?

• Its members blamed Irish immigrants for taking away jobs

• The party encouraged western migration of settlers

• Its members opposed enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act in the Northeast

• The party was in favor of universal suffrage

How did the Supreme Court decision in Worcester v. Georgia affect American Indians?

• The ruling gave the state authority over relations with American Indians

• The state ignored the ruling and distributed Cherokee lands to white settlers

• More American Indian tribes decided to grant licenses to missionaries to live on tribal lands

• Reservation policies were overturned and replaced with land grants to individuals

What is the “great act” referred to by Senator Sumner in this excerpt?

• The Senate's readmission of the last Confederate state

• The addition of Hiram Rhodes Revels to the US Senate

• The Senate's acquittal of President Andrew Jackson

• The election of the first woman to the US Senate

Which term best completes this excerpt?

• Second Great Awakening

• temperance movement

• Era of Good Feelings

• abolitionist movement

Why did slavery become a widespread practice in the United States during the early nineteenth century?

• The system of indentured servitude was banned

• The need for agricultural labor increased as a result of expanded cotton production

• Improved transportation systems made it easier for workers to migrate

• Advancements in technology led to the need for skilled workers

Which human geographic factor most likely prompted this observation?

• Then number of Quakers living in British colonies

• The Caribbean slave trade with British colonies

• The number of religious sects in the British colonies

• The Spanish land claims close to the British colonies

Which statement describes how the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 increased sectionalism?

• It allowed slavery to expand into the territories.

• It gave tax cuts to manufacturers who relocated to the territories.

• It allowed slaves who escaped to the territories to purchase their freedom.

• It granted homesteads to immigrants who settled in the territories.