th
8 Grade
Covering
1607-1877
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This is “SET A” STAAR
REVIEW QUESTIONS!
Label your notebook
paper 1-25 with two
spaces between each
question!
• For the next questions you need to write down your
answer and an explanation for your answer. Your
explanation must be at least two complete sentences!
• Number your papers 1-25
• EXAMPLE: As a result of Manifest Destiny the United States
became a world power through—
• A. independence from Great Britain
• B. westward expansion to the Pacific Ocean
• C. efforts to stop secession of Southern states
• D. laws restricting labor union activity
• EXAMPLE-Answer: B. westward expansion to the
Pacific Ocean
• Student explains answer: Manifest Destiny was the idea
the American should expand from coast to coast because
it was their destiny to do so. This caused the U.S. to gain
more states and even more immigrants to come to the
U.S.
• 1. Which list of events is in order from earliest to
latest?
• A. arrival of Europeans – Revolutionary War – colonial
period
• B. Revolutionary War – arrival of Europeans – colonial
period
• C. arrival of Europeans – colonial period – Revolutionary
War
• D. colonial period – arrival of Europeans – Revolutionary
War
• ANSWER
• C. arrival of Europeans – colonial period – Revolutionary
War
• Don’t forget to write an explanation!
• 2. Select the group of events below that is in the correct
chronological order—
• A. American Revolution, War of 1812, French and Indian
War, Civil War
• B. French and Indian War, American Revolution, War of
1812, Civil War
• C. French and Indian War, War of 1812, American
Revolution, Civil War
• D. War of 1812, American Revolution, French and Indian
War, Civil War
• Answer to #2
• B. French and Indian War, American Revolution, War of
1812, Civil War
• 3. The Preamble of the United States Constitution states
the purposes of government and is based on the belief
that
• A. the states have ultimate authority
• B. members of Congress should be appointed
• C. Supreme Court Justices should be elected
• D. the people are sovereign
• Answer to #3
• D. the people are sovereign
• 4. Which of the following land was aquired peacefully by
the United States?
• A. Mexican Cession
• B. Louisiana Territory
• C. Northwest Territory
• D. Texas Revolution
• Answer to #4
• B. Louisiana Territory
• 5. In the early 1800s the United States was impacted by
European conflicts. Which of the following was a
significant foreign policy success of President Thomas
Jefferson’s administration?
• A. purchase of the Louisiana Territory
• B. support for the Alien and Sedition Acts
• C. victory in the war of 1812
• D. passage of the Embargo Act
• Answer to #5
• A. purchase of the Louisiana Territory
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We should still be writing an explanation for each
answer!
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6. Which event caused anti-British feelings?
A. Boston Tea Party
B. Boston Massacre
C. Continental Congress
D. Boycott of British goods
• Answer to 6
• B. Boston Massacre
• 7. As a result of President Andrew Jackson’s policies,
Native American Indians were
• A. relocated to reservations in Mexico
• B. forcibly removed to areas west of the Mississippi
River
• C. gradually allowed to return to their ancestral lands
• D. given United States citizenship
• Answer to 7
• B. forcibly removed to areas west of the Mississippi
River
• 8. A primary influence behind the division between the
North and the South during the Civil War was—
• A. welfare reform and income tax rates
• B. immigration policies and westward expansion
• C. loyalty to Great Britain and taxation without
representation
• D. states rights and the status of slavery in the west
• Answer #8
• D. states rights and the status of slavery in the west
• 9. The president sought to end many Federalist programs,
lower taxes, and reduce the size of the federal government and
the military.
• The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Secretary of State James
Madison and established the principle of Judicial review in the
case Marbury v. Madison.
• The Louisiana Territory was purchased.
• These remarks best reflect what era of the U.S. history?
• A. Colonial Era
• B. Jefferson Era
• C. Era of Good Feeling
• D. Reconstruction Era
• 9. B Jefferson Era
• 10.Which of the following events occurred first?
• A. Lewis and Clark explored lands west of the
Mississippi River.
• B. Thomas Jefferson became president.
• C. Zebulon Pike explored the Arkansas and Red rivers.
• D. The Embargo Act was passed.
• B. Thomas Jefferson became president.
11. On the 1st day of January in the year of our Lord 1863, all persons held as
slaves within any state or …part of a state (whose) people …shall then be in
rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever
free.
This is a quote from the—
1.Gettysburg Address
2.Lincoln-Douglas Debates
3.Emancipation Proclamation
4.Thirteenth Amendment
• 3. Emancipation Proclamation
U.S. Doubles in Size with Land Bought from France
12. The following headline appeared in newspapers in which of the following years?
1.1776
2.1803
3.1812
4.1861
• Answer: 2. 1803
• 13. Which of the following was an economic reason why
England established colonies in America?
• A. they wanted to establish the free enterprise system
• B. they wanted to purchase cheap ships from America
• C. they wanted to establish the practice of mercantilism
• D. they could not afford to feed their people and needed
resources
• C. they wanted to establish the practice of mercantilism
• EXPLAIN mercantilism in your own words!
• 14. The repercussions of this event forced settlers to New
England in search of religious freedom—
• A. Spanish Inquisition
• B. Protestant Reformation
• C. Black Plague
• D. The Crusades
• B. Protestant Reformation
• 15. The British benefited from their mercantilist
relationship with the American colonies primarily by
• A. supporting the growth of colonial industries
• B. prohibiting colonists from fishing and fur trading
• C. taking large amounts of gold and silver from the
southern colonies
• D. buying raw materials from the colonies and selling
them finished products
• D. buying raw materials from the colonies and selling
them finished products
16. Whose life is referred to in the timeline?
1.Benjamin Franklin
2.John Smith
3.Roger Williams
4.Roger Sherman
1631
He was ordained a minister of the
Church of England but discovered
Puritanism and joined the “American
Experiment” in Boston. He tried to
reform the Church, then separated
from it.
1635
He insisted land be purchased from
the Indians, not taken. He was put on
trial in Salem and banished from the
Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1636
He purchased land from the
Narragansett Indians and established
the settlement of Providence, Rhode
Island. He embraced the idea of
religious freedom.
• 3. Roger Williams
• 17. The Mayflower Compact, New England town
meetings, and the Virginia House of Burgesses are
examples of
• A. early colonial efforts in self-government
• B. colonial protests against British taxation
• C. governments imposed by Parliament
• D. attempts to limit democracy
A. early colonial efforts in self-government
• 18. The primary reason for the establishment of the
Middle Colonies was—
• A. to escape political turmoil
• B. economic opportunities
• C. religious freedom
• D. opportunity for adventure
• B. economic opportunities
• Explain how this was different from the more northern
colonies.
19. The following best describe which group of early colonies?
1. Villages with town meetings
2. Small farms and commercial fishing
3. First American college
A. New England Colonies
B. Middle Colonies
C. Southern Colonies
D. Spanish Colonies
• A. New England Colonies
• 20. The Mayflower Compact of 1620 is considered an
important step in the development of democracy in
America because it
• A. expressed the importance of self-government
• B. established freedom of religion
• C. created the first colonial judiciary
• D. granted all males the right to vote
• A. expressed the importance of self-government
• 21. How did living in the colonies change the way Americans
thought about government?
• A. There was little diversity in the colonies and everyone had
similar ideas about government.
• B. The colonists were generally left alone by England and they
took part in running their own government.
• C. The colonists believed they would always be protected by
England and there was no need for their own government.
• D. Most colonists came to believe that government was
unnecessary and they would be better off without it.
• B. The colonists were generally left alone by England and
they took part in running their own government.
• 22. What was the greatest consideration for colonists’
desires to make their own laws separate and apart from
England?
• A. Distance from England
• B. Taxation rights for loyalists
• C. Local legal structures
• D. A voice in state government
• A. Distance from England
• 23. Which political belief is expressed by the quotation
“we …will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in
which we have no voice, or Representation”?
• A. necessity for separation of powers
• B. government by consent of the governed
• C. freedom of press and assembly
• D. right to a writ of habeas corpus
• B. government by consent of the governed
• 24. In the Colonial Era, developments such as the New
England town meetings and the establishment of the
Virginia House of Burgesses represented
• A. colonial attempts to build a strong national
government
• B. efforts by the British to strengthen their control over
the colonies
• C. steps in the growth of representative democracy
• D. early social reform movements
• . steps in the growth of representative democracy
• 25. The Virginia House of Burgesses and the Mayflower
Compact had a similar effect in that both
• A. reinforced the English Parliament’s control over the
colonies
• B. gave settlers the power to establish colonies
• C. contributed to the development of representative
democracy
• D. granted absolute authority to the colonial governors
• C. contributed to the development of representative
democracy (or otherwise known as representative
government)
• If the bell has not rung yet continue answer the
following questions but you do not have to
explain your answers. This will be on my
website until the STAAR Test if you would like to
review back and finish these on your own.
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26. The House of Burgesses was significant because it—
A. settled conflicts with the Native Americans
B. provided more local control
C. communicated with King George
D. supported the royal Governor
• B. provided more local control
• 27. How did the Mayflower Compact and The
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut help establish the
roots of representative government?
• A. Established the Christian heritage of the England
• B. Established a set of laws to govern the colonies
• C. Showed the colonist how to act independently
• D. Allowed states to do anything they felt was right
• B. Established a set of laws to govern the colonies
• 28. Which mid-1700s religious event contributed to the
growth of representative government?
• A. Great Awakening
• B. Enlightenment
• C. Seven Year’s War
• D. Treaty of Paris
• A. Great Awakening
• 28. The major objection that British colonists in North
America had to English rule was that they were
• A. denied the right to arm themselves for defense
• B. denied the rights of citizens who lived in England
• C. forced to settle wilderness areas
• D. forced to farm crops ordered by England
• B. denied the rights of citizens who lived in England
• 29. As a result of mercantilism, the thirteen American
colonies were expected to provide Great Britain with—
• A. finished American-manufactured goods
• B. raw materials and markets for British products
• C. officials to represent colonial interests in Parliament
• D. laborers to work in British factories
• B. raw materials and markets for British products
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30. Writs of assistance authorized—
A. taxes on colonial exports
B. taxes on colonial made goods
C. boycott of British imports
D. unrestricted search of ships
• D. unrestricted search of ships
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31. Colonist formed Committees of Safety to—
A. oppose independence
B. invade Canada
C. recruit and train local militia
D. attack the British at Ft. Ticonderoga
• C. recruit and train local militia
• 32. The slogan “No taxation without representation”
referred to taxes enacted by—
• A. colonial legislators
• B. town meetings
• C. the English Parliament
• D. the First Continental Congress
• C. the English Parliament (the colonists had to pay taxes
but didn’t have representation in the Parliament)
• 32. After 1763, which was the main argument used by the
British to justify taxing the Thirteen Colonies?
• A. colonies should contribute to expenses involved in
providing for their defense
• B. taxes were uniform throughout the British colonies
• C. tax money was used to protect the mining interests of
the British Empire
• D. the written constitution provided Parliament with the
power to tax colonies
• A. colonies should contribute to expenses involved in
providing for their defense
• 33. King George III primary goal for establishing the
Proclamation Line of 1763 was to—
• A. avoid conflicts between American colonists and
Native American Indians
• B. make a profit by selling the land west of the
Appalachian Mountains
• C. prevent American industrial development in the Ohio
River valley
• D. allow Canada to control the Great Lakes region
• A. avoid conflicts between American colonists and
Native American Indians
• 34. Why were the colonists upset about the Proclamation
of 1763?
• A. It laid the foundation for future laws restricting the
rights of the colonists.
• B. The Parliament violated the colonists rights to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
• C. The law forced a tax on important trade items like
sugar and tobacco.
• D. The law forbid them to settle lands west of the
Appalachian Mountains.
• D. The law forbid them to settle lands west of the
Appalachian Mountains.
• 35. Which of the following influenced American thinking
about mercantilism with his book, The Wealth of Nations?
• A. John Adams
• B. Thomas Jefferson
• C. Adam Smith
• D. John Smith
• C. Adam Smith
• 36. The major objection that British colonists in North
America had to English rule was that they were
• A. denied the right to arm themselves for defense
• B. denied the rights of citizens who lived in England
• C. forced to settle wilderness areas
• D. forced to farm crops ordered by England
• B. denied the rights of citizens who lived in England
• 37. Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts in reaction to
the—
• A. Boston Massacre
• B. Committees of Correspondence
• C. colonial boycott of East India tea
• D. dumping of tea in the Boston Harbor
D. dumping of tea in the Boston Harbor
• 38. Colonial boycotts of British goods before the
Revolutionary War were effective measures because
they—
• A. reduced the profits of British merchants
• B. lowered the prices of imported products
• C. left British troops short of supplies in the colonies
• D. allowed the Americans to start their own factories
• A. reduced the profits of British merchants
• 39. As the British monarchy began to take greater control
of colonial governments in the early 1770s, the British
government began to—
• A. change self-governing colonies to royal colonies
• B. give the colonies greater control over economic
matters
• C. assign members of British Parliament to oversee all
three types of colonies
• D. change all of the colonies to proprietary colonies
• A. change self-governing colonies to royal colonies
• 40. Which of these was most responsible for American
independence from great Britain?
• A. Bacon’s Rebellion
• B. trial of John Peter Zenger
• C. introduction of slavery to the colonies
• D. publication of documents like Common Sense
• D. publication of documents like Common Sense
• If the bell has not rung yet, go back and look up
information on the questions you aren’t sure about using
the internet.