TAKS April 2006 Grade 8 Social Studies Online Test

DIRECTIONS
Read each question and choose the best answer. Then mark the circle next to the letter for the answer you have chosen.

Use the excerpt and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

1To which book is President Lincoln referring in the excerpt above?

AUncle Tom’s Cabin

BThe Wealth of Nations

CDemocracy in America

DMcGuffey’s Eclectic Reader

2Among the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment is the right to —

Fthe free exercise of religion

Gkeep and bear arms

Hdue process of law

Ja speedy and public trial

Use the excerpt and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

3According to the excerpt above, with which of the following statements would the speaker most likely agree?

APrisons should be reformed.

BWomen should have equal rights.

CMen should work in agricultural jobs.

DWomen should pursue traditional occupations.

Use the time line and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

4Which of these is the best title for the time line above?

FThe Common Man in Jacksonian America

GEvents Leading to the Rise of an Industrial United States

HThe Creation of Middle-Class America

JEvents Leading to the Territorial Growth of the United States

5The 13 original colonies were primarily located along the —

AAtlantic Ocean

BGulf of Mexico

CMississippi River

DGreat Lakes

Use the graph and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

6Which of the following best explains one of the changes in immigration shown on this graph?

FFree housing was offered to immigrants arriving after 1855.

GA famine plagued Ireland between 1845 and 1850.

HThe German National Assembly passed a constitution in 1850.

JLabor strikes occurred in Great Britain between 1840 and 1845.

Use the map and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

7Which conclusion can best be made by examining the map above?

AThe Louisiana Purchase almost doubled the size of the United States.

BFrance gained control of much of the North American continent.

CThe Louisiana Purchase was designated for Native American ownership.

DBoth Spain and the United States would share control of the Louisiana Purchase.

Use the graph and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

8Which of these is a correct interpretation of the information shown above?

FTotal Confederate casualties were greater than total Union casualties.

GMore Confederate soldiers died of wounds than of disease.

HMore than twice as many Union soldiers died of disease than of wounds.

JFewer soldiers fought for the Union than for the Confederacy.

Use the excerpt and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

9Which of the following was included in the U.S. Constitution in order to deal with the grievance expressed above?

AThe process for amendment

BThe establishment of a chief executive

CThe process for territorial statehood

DThe establishment of the Supreme Court

10Belief in the idea of Manifest Destiny was one reason that —

Fthe United States went to war with Mexico

Gtranscendentalists established utopian societies

Hthe Bank of the United States was established

Jwomen organized the Seneca Falls Convention

Use the diagram and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

11Which of the following best completes the diagram above?

AIncrease in agricultural production

BDecrease in the slave population

CEnactment of protective tariffs

DGrowth of immigration

12The Nullification Crisis concerned South Carolina’s dissatisfaction with federal policy on —

Ftransportation

Gtariffs

Hbanking

Jimmigration

Use the information in the box and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

13The factors listed above most directly contributed to the increase of —

Aindustrialization

Bsubsistence farming

Cpublic education

Dhomesteading

14From 1607 to 1609, only 60 of more than 900 Jamestown colonists survived. One reason for the low survival rate was that —

Fthe colonists were frequently attacked by Spanish explorers

Gthe swampy location caused disease to spread

Hthe colonists endured unexpected flooding

Jthe punishment for all criminal offenses was execution

Use the diagram and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

15Which step best completes the process above?

AThe territory may decide to legalize slavery within its borders.

BThe territory may be admitted as a state.

CThe territory must allow women the right to vote.

DThe territory will be required to pay export tariffs.

16One reason that the Mayflower Compact was written was to establish —

Fprinciples of government for the new colony

Ga charter for a joint-stock company

Hstrict military control over the colonists

Ja system of trade with other colonies

Use the excerpt and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

17This excerpt is taken from the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case —

ADartmouth College v. Woodward

BCharles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge

CMarbury v. Madison

DDred Scott v. Sandford

18Which of these was a factor that led to the development of plantation agriculture in the South?

FThe climate allowed planters to raise profitable cash crops.

GTariffs permitted planters to make a greater profit.

HThe federal government paid a bonus to cotton producers.

JCanals carried crops to western markets.

Use the information in the box and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

19Which of the following events completes the time line?

ABritish surrender at Yorktown.

BAmericans hold Stamp Act Congress.

CBritish occupy Fort Ticonderoga.

DAmericans issue the Declaration of Independence.

20Why did Elizabeth Cady Stanton oppose the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

FPublic education was not addressed.

GWomen were still excluded from voting.

HSlavery was still allowed in the territories.

JNative Americans gained citizenship.

Use the excerpt and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

21Which statement best summarizes the ideas expressed above by Franklin?

AThe government must inform the people of its laws.

BThe government can make treaties with other nations.

CCitizens can impeach government officials.

DCitizens must be allowed to discuss ideas with one another.

22Which 1620 document was signed by male members of the community to establish a government for settlers at Plymouth?

FThe Articles of Confederation

GThe Mayflower Compact

HThe Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

JThe Albany Plan

Use the diagram and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

23What would be the best title for the diagram above?

AThe Policy of Mercantilism

BThe Importance of the Divine Right of Kings

CConstitutional Monarchy in the United States

DA Plan for Representative Government

Use the information in the box and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

24Which of the following does this list best describe?

FThe temperance movement

GManifest Destiny

HThe plantation system

JMonroe Doctrine

25During the mid-1800s the expanding U.S. economy required better methods of communication. Communications were improved significantly by Samuel Morse’s invention of the —

Atypewriter

Btelephone

Ctelegraph

Dphonograph

Use the diagram and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

26How did the delegates to the Constitutional Convention settle the issue described above?

FThree-Fifths Compromise

GNew Jersey Plan

HVirginia Plan

JMason-Dixon Line

27President Andrew Jackson’s policy toward Native Americans primarily consisted of —

Areaching agreement with the courts concerning Native American territory

Bremoving and relocating Native Americans

Cpaying fair market value for Native American lands

Dbuilding schools and creating employment opportunities for Native Americans

28The Battle of Vicksburg was important in the Civil War because it —

Fallowed the Confederate army to seize Washington, D.C.

Gbroke the Union blockade along the Gulf of Mexico

Henabled the Confederate army to seek French assistance

Jgave the Union army control of the Mississippi River

Use the diagram and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

29The diagram above shows the compromise that helped guarantee the ratification of the U.S. Constitution by —

Aproviding a plan for representation of both large and small states

Btaking power away from the national government

Ccreating new boundaries for both large and small states

Dallowing local governments to determine matters of representation

30Patrick Henry, an Anti-Federalist, opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution mainly because he thought it did not sufficiently —

Fsupport freedom for slaves

Gcriticize abuses of the monarchy

Hencourage trade with foreign powers

Jguarantee individual rights

Use the diagram and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

31Which of the following best completes the diagram?

AAmendment of the U.S. Constitution

BJurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court

CRegulation of interstate commerce

DElection of the president

32The most important result of the Battle of Saratoga was that —

FAmerican leaders were forced to surrender and were arrested for treason

GSpain entered the war and provided supplies to Great Britain

HBritain released captured American sailors and returned American merchant ships

JFrance officially recognized and formed an alliance with the U.S. government

Use the information in the box and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

33Which Civil War leader is described in the box above?

ARobert E. Lee

BUlysses S. Grant

CAbraham Lincoln

DJefferson Davis

Use the excerpt and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

34Which of the following best reflects the point of view expressed by President George Washington in the excerpt above?

FForeign nations are a military threat.

GPermanent alliances are part of a nation’s foreign policy.

HForeign nations profit from importing goods.

JPermanent alliances with foreign nations should be avoided.

Use the cartoon and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

35In the cartoon above, which regional group is represented by the man with the tattered clothes on the left?

AEastern bankers

BSouthern planters

CNorthern merchants

DWestern miners

Use the information in the box and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

36Which speaker is voicing a right guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

FSpeaker 1

GSpeaker 2

HSpeaker 3

JSpeaker 4

Use the map and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

37Which statement is best supported by this map of 16th-century European exploration?

AEngland was the first European power to navigate the Great Lakes.

BSpain financed numerous journeys to Canada.

CEngland sent the first European settlers to the Southwest.

DSpain sent more expeditions than England to the interior regions of the Americas.

Use the excerpt and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

38How does the excerpt above show Hamilton’s bias in favor of a national debt?

FBy calling on states to assume the debt

GBy supporting taxation without representation

HBy describing the debt as a strengthening force

JBy promoting western land sales

39The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution —

Abrought immediate equality to Native Americans

Bestablished a process for the admission of western states into the Union

Ccreated new congressional districts

Dgranted civil rights primarily to African Americans

Use the diagram and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

40Which of these is the best title for the diagram above?

FThe Development of Triangular Trade

GThe Development of the Plantation System

HThe Development of Protective Tariffs

JThe Development of Steel Mills

Use the excerpt and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

41The speech above shows that Lincoln believed that the South should —

Abe allowed to continue the practice of slavery

Bpay for the damages suffered by the Union

Creceive fair treatment after the war

Dbe punished for seceding from the Union

Use the map and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

42Which of these statements is best supported by the map?

FRice was a more profitable crop for the New England colonies than wheat.

GThe economy of the middle colonies was based on rice farming.

HThe economy of the New England colonies was based on indigo production.

JIndigo production was more important to the economy of the southern colonies than lumber.

Use the information in the box and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

43Based on the information in the list above, which statement can be made about the Quakers?

AMost Quakers were southern slaveholders.

BMany Quakers made significant contributions to reform movements.

CMany Quakers supported the U.S. entry into the Mexican War.

DMost Quakers supported the use of alcohol.

Use the information in the box and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

44Which prominent Revolutionary figure is described above?

FSamuel Adams

GThomas Paine

HPatrick Henry

JBenjamin Franklin

Use the excerpt and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

45In the excerpt above, Mann shows his support for —

Awomen’s suffrage

Bprison reform

Cpublic schools

Dimproved sanitation

Use the excerpt and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

46This portrayal of factory life is considered a primary source because it is from —

Fa description in a textbook

Gan account by a mill worker

Ha description of a mill town

Jan article in a newspaper

Use the time line and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

47The information above shows that during the years 1804–1828, the United States faced many issues related to —

Aconflicts over religion

Bpresidential elections

Cproblems in foreign relations

Deconomic development

Use the illustration and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.

48The artifact above is an example of a badge most likely worn by a —

Fplantation owner

Gformer slave

Hcolonial governor

Jrecent immigrant

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