8th Grade NY Social Studies Diagnostic

The national debt can best be defined as the amount of money owed

• to the nation by the nation’s citizens and by foreign countries.

• by the nation to foreign countries and the nation’s citizens.

• to the federal government by individual states.

• by the federal government to domestic debtors.

Which of the following best describes a trade union?

• organization of workers who tried to improve pay and working conditions for members

• collection of workers who appealed to the courts for assistance against employers

• group of workers who arrived from poor countries and were willing to work for low pay

• alliance of workers who wanted to prevent their employers from competing with other manufacturers

What was the transcontinental railroad meant to connect?

• the southern United States to the North

• the eastern United States to the West

• Canada to the southern United States

• Canada to Mexico and Central America

Which battle effectively ended the wars between Native Americans and the United States?

• Little Bighorn

• Long Walk

• Medicine Lodge

• Wounded Knee

Which act gave land grants to the states?

• Homestead Act

• Morrill Act

• Interstate Commerce Act

• Free Silver Act

Which of the following is true about stockholders?

• They must pay the corporation’s debts.

• They can sell their stock shares at any time.

• They are responsible for the corporation’s policies.

• They vote directly for the corporation’s president.

Which inventor patented the telephone?

• Alexander Graham Bell

• Henry Ford

• Thomas Edison

• Elijah McCoy

What is vertical integration?

• the practice of owning all businesses in a certain field

• ownership of businesses involved in each step of a manufacturing process

• a legal arrangement grouping together a number of companies under a single board of directors

• a view of society based on the theory of natural selection

The reason for the decline in working conditions in American industries in the late 1800s was the

• drive to regulate monopolies.

• weakening of labor unions.

• emphasis on high profits and efficiency.

• elimination of health benefits.

Who led the Knights of Labor?

• Frederick W. Taylor

• Terence V. Powderly

• Samuel Gompers

• Mary Harris Jones