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Worksheets8th Grade History Pre-Test
Total questions: 48
Worksheet time: 2hrs 22mins
The electoral college is a
group of voters hand-picked for cabinet positions by the president-elect.
body of delegates from each state that casts the deciding votes for president.
name given to all voters who cast ballots in presidential elections.
school for the advanced study of voting practices and political campaigning.
What is federalism?
the part of government responsible for making the laws of a country or nation
a government system where the central government holds supreme power
a system that keeps each branch of government from obtaining too much power
the sharing of power between a central government and the states of a country
What are groups that help elect people and shape politics called?
speculators
bonds
political parties
privateers
The president and the departments that help run the government is what branch?
checks and balances
legislative branch
judicial branch
executive branch
The president can check the power of the legislative branch by doing what?
vetoing a law.
petitioning Congress.
issuing an executive order.
granting a pardon.
A system of all the nations courts is what branch?
legislative branch
executive branch
judicial branch
checks and balances
A set of basic principles and laws that states the powers and duties of the government is called what?
ratification
Constitution
suffrage
Bill of Rights
What determines how many members represent each state in the House of Representatives?
the U.S. Census, a nationwide population count taken every ten years
apportionment, a system designed to keep the number of representatives at 435
state tax revenues, which indicate how valuable a state’s voice is to the nation
the U.S. Constitution, which assigned a fixed number of seats to each state
What role does the Constitution assign to the judicial branch?
interpreting the law
setting legal precedents
writing new laws
giving legal advice
What Constitutional amendments protect the rights of citizens?
Declaration of Independence
Bill of Rights
Magna Carta
Federalists Papers
A congress of two houses that proposes and passes laws makes up what branch?
legislative branch
checks and balances
executive branch
judicial branch
How did the slavery issue get tied up with the doctrine of manifest destiny in the 1840s and ’50s?
Southern slaveholders demanded government assistance in transporting slaves to the West.
Slavery went against the democratic values implied by the philosophy of frontier-ism.
Americans did not know if the institution of slavery would be allowed in the new territories.
Southern slaveholders thought westward expansion would cause their region to lose power.
What aspect of Native American history became known as the “Trail of Tears”?
the streams of blood that flowed from the Sauk Indians in the Black Hawk War
the forced 800-mile march Cherokee Indians made in their removal from Georgia
the line connecting Seminole Indian settlements up and down Florida’s east coast
the unpublished works on the Cherokee population written by Sequoya
What is judicial review?
the power of Congress to oversee decisions made by the Supreme Court
the power of the judiciary to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional
the power of Congress to review the appointment of Supreme Court justices
the power of the judiciary to monitor the conduct of presidential elections
What party was formed to support Jackson’s candidacy in the election of 1828?
Tea Party
Democratic Party
Whig Party
Republican Party
During the mid-1800s, the rate at which a city grew was closely linked to
how accepting the citizens in the region were of immigrants.
how suitable the land in the region was for growing cash crops.
the number of middle class women having babies in the region.
the number of manufacturing jobs available in the region.
A system that keeps any branch of government from becoming too powerful is called what?
executive branch
judicial branch
legislative branch
checks and balances
How was life in southern cities similar to plantation life in the 1800s?
Slaves did most of the work.
Public education was widely available.
Local governments funded water systems.
Business owners maintained streets.
Which factor was largely responsible for making emancipation almost impossible in the South in the early 1800s?
sectionalism linked to the division between the North and South
the South’s economic dependence on slavery
slaveholder’s political influence in the nation’s capital
promotion by northern Christians of religious justifications for slavery
The Transportation Revolution was a period of what?
rebellion against foreign countries’ use of American shipping lanes.
economic depression brought on by inferior modes of travel.
public disapproval of traditional modes of transit.
rapid growth in the speed and convenience of travel.
The Industrial Revolution is best defined as what?
period of rapid growth during which machines became essential to industry.
series of explosive encounters between workers and wealthy factory owners.
time of great excitement about mechanical approaches to controlling Nature.
period of turmoil and upheaval within the United States government.
The Civil War began with event?
election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency.
abolition of slavery in the South.
declaration of war by President Lincoln.
firing of Confederate guns on Fort Sumter.
What was the first state to secede from the Union?
Virginia
Tennessee
South Carolina
North Carolina
What was the goal of the Anaconda blockade?
Destroy the southern economy
Not allow southern troop movements
Prevent the British from sending troops
Allow for easy invasion for troops
African American soldiers in the Civil War faced more difficulties than white soldiers in that they were
given rotten food to eat and poor living conditions at camp.
killed or sold into slavery if captured by the Confederacy.
not experienced at war and did not know what to expect.
only given bayonets with which to fight.
What did President Lincoln do to silence those in opposition to the war?
He banned the publication of anti-war articles in newspapers.
He decided that enemies of the Union would be forced to immediately leave the United States.
He ignored protections against unlawful imprisonment by jailing enemies of the Union without trial.
He ordered that anyone who openly opposed the war be fined a large sum of money.
Many Northerners began to oppose the Civil War because they
began to realize the importance of slavery to the South’s economy.
felt that the Union was being too harsh on the Confederacy.
thought Lincoln was following his own agenda and not the Union’s.
were upset by the length of the war and the number of casualties.
The purpose of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was to
honor the Union soldiers and their bravery throughout the Civil War.
surrender to certain demands of the Confederacy.
remind Americans of the reasons that the Civil War was being fought.
declare the official end of the Civil War.
Why was the Battle of Gettysburg a turning point in the Civil War?
It resulted in the Confederacy losing over half of its troops.
It was the last time Lee’s troops launched an attack in the North.
It was the scene of the surrender of the Confederate troops to the Union.
It marked the first clear Union victory of the Civil War.
What was the strategy of total war adopted by General Sherman?
destroying civilian and military resources
executing all prisoners of war without a trial
attacking the enemy both on land and from the sea
killing the slaves and, consequently, the work force
Why did General Lee decide to surrender his troops at Appomattox Courthouse?
General Lee no longer wanted to fight and his troops wanted to surrender.
The Union promised to restore the South to its way of life before the war.
Confederacy president Jefferson Davis ordered him to surrender.
The Union had surrounded his troops and he had run out of supplies.
What was the economic condition of the South after the end of the Civil War?
improved, as plantations were in the hands of former slaves
disastrous, as most plantations became Union generals’ mansions
thriving, as the end of slavery enhanced working conditions
critical, as homes and jobs were not available to most people
What advantage did the South have over the North in the Civil War?
Better infrastructure
More factories
Offensive Strategy
Better Military Leaders
What was the Union strategy in the West?
Taking control of the Mississippi River
Destroy the South’s plantations
Take the Confederate capital New Orleans
Take out the Native American resistance
What was the biggest killer of soldiers during the Civil War?
Battle wounds
Disease
Amputations
Prison Camps
The Emancipation Proclamation was an order from Lincoln
granting slaves U.S. citizenship.
requiring slaves to join Union troops.
calling for all Confederate slaves to be freed.
ending slavery in the United States.
What is an action or decision that later serves as an example?
Ratification
Precedent
Petition
Draft
What is the system of force military service called?
Amendment
Deport
Tariffs
Draft
What was an incident in which French agents attempted to get a bribe from U.S. diplomats in exchange that French privateers would no longer attack American ships?
XYZ Affair
War of 1812
Alamo
Precedent
Taxes on exports and imports are called what?
Draft
Ratification
Tariffs
Petition
What political party formed in the 1850's to stop the spread of slavery in the West?
Republican Party
Democratic Party
Whig Party
Federalist Party
What War was fought between Great Britain and the United States fought mainly on the Canadian Border?
American Revolutionary War
Civil War
War of 1812
Mexican-American War
What is an official approval in government called?
Deport
Ratification
Petition
Draft
What is it called when a government sends an immigrant back to his or her country of origin?
Draft
Deport
Tariff
Petition
What is to make a formal request of the government?
Petition
Precedent
Ratification
Amendment
What was the Spanish mission in San Antonio, Texas that was the site of a famous battle of the Texas Revolution, a conflict between Texas colonist and Mexico?
the Alamo
Gettysburg
Houston
Dallas
What is an official change, correction, or addition to a law or constitution?
Precedent
Petition
Tariffs
Amendment
What was a 2,000 mile trail stretching through the Great Plains from western Missouri to the Oregon Territory?
Santa Fe Trail
Oregon Trail
Mormon Trail
California Trail
