Test Booklet
Subject: SS, Grade: 08
TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
Student name:
Author: Texas
District: Texas Released Tests
Printed: Monday July 02, 2012
TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
1 Use the excerpt and your knowledge of social
studies to answer the following question.
SS:08
3 Use the poster and your knowledge of social
studies to answer the following question.
April 1st. Friday Cloudy with rain afterwards
fair, people in the corn house, then about the fence,
Davy and Delphia sick.
2d Saturday Cloudy all day, did some work in the
field and in the garden, Davy and Delphia sick,
John and Ephraim went to Mr. Curry’s and then
Ephraim went twice to the mill.
3d Sunday Cloudy with some rain.
4th Monday Cloudy, Davy plowing, John making
shoes for my daughter Peggy, Billy wagoning
cornstalks, women picking them up and loading
the wagon.
— Diary of Joseph Hornsby, 1803
According to the diary entries above, the author
most likely worked as a —
A
B
C
D
farmer
shipbuilder
blacksmith
physician
2 What was one result of President Andrew Jackson’s policies toward Native Americans?
A The Apaches formed an alliance with the Sioux
to fight against the U.S. Army.
The meetings announced in the poster above were
most likely organized by supporters of which
movement?
A
B
C
D
Abolition
Public education
Temperance
Labor
B The Nez Percé became slaves on southern
cotton plantations.
C The Cherokees were forced to move to territory
west of the Mississippi River.
D The Iroquois were forced to send their children
to public schools in Pennsylvania.
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
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4 Use the graphs and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
Which statement about the U.S. population in 1850 is best supported by the information in these graphs?
A
B
C
D
Rural life was similar in the South and the Northeast.
New immigrants to the Northeast settled primarily in urban areas.
The Midwest was becoming increasingly urbanized.
The majority of people in these three regions lived in rural areas.
5 Use the diagram and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
Which of the following best completes the diagram above?
A
B
C
D
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Plantation System
Nullification Crisis
Industrial Revolution
Indian Removal Act
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
SS:08
6 Use the information in the box and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
Which Supreme Court decision is described above?
A
B
C
D
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Marbury v. Madison
Dred Scott v. Sandford
McCulloch v. Maryland
Worcester v. Georgia
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
SS:08
7 Use the map and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
This map shows a pattern of migration that resulted from —
A
B
C
D
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buffalo hunting
the demand for labor to build a railroad
the discovery of gold in California
the revolution in Texas
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
SS:08
8 Use the diagram and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
Which important principle of U.S. government is reflected in the diagram?
A
B
C
D
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Individual rights
Popular sovereignty
Federalism
Separation of powers
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
SS:08
9 Use the time line and your knowledge of social
studies to answer the following question.
Which of these is the best summary of the
information above?
A It took a long time for railroads to become
popular.
B New inventions and engineering techniques led
to waterway construction.
C Technical innovations and internal improvements created new travel options.
D Transportation depended primarily on private
investment.
10 In the 1850s, a key issue in the debate over the
admission of new states to the Union was whether
the new states would —
A
B
C
D
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allow slavery
build railroads
give women the right of suffrage
support homesteading
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
SS:08
11 Use the cartoon and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
The roots of the plants in this cartoon represent —
A
B
C
D
people living in Great Britain
opponents of the American Revolution
factors leading to the American Revolution
laws passed by colonial assemblies
12 Which of these is a reason for protecting freedom
13 Cyrus McCormick’s mechanical reaper changed
of speech in a democratic society?
grain production by —
A Regulating unpopular opinions
B Ensuring that all parts of society have a voice
C Preventing citizens from criticizing the govern-
A
B
C
D
ment during wartime
D Guaranteeing that all citizens will attend
forcing most small farmers out of business
improving crop resistance to insects
enabling farmers to grow wheat in rocky soil
reducing the amount of labor required for
harvesting
school
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
SS:08
14 Use the chart and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
The chart shows three vice presidents who —
A
B
C
D
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later became president
were related to one another
were older than the president they served with
later opposed the president they served with
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
SS:08
15 Use the photographs and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
The two photographs show how the environment —
A
B
C
D
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can be changed by natural forces
recovers from pollution over time
can be altered to suit human habitation
can be protected by humans
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
SS:08
16 Use the diagram and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
Which idea best completes this diagram?
A
B
C
D
Representation by presidential appointment
Representation based on a state’s date of admission
Representation based on a state’s population
Representation with term limits
17 The Nullification Crisis revolved around the
ability of —
A
B
C
D
a state to declare federal laws unconstitutional
the president to ignore Supreme Court rulings
businesses to reject provisions of a contract
U.S. Army officers to disobey direct orders
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
18 Use the excerpt and your knowledge of social
studies to answer the following question.
SS:08
20 Use the information in the box and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following
question.
Which group was most responsible for making
the items listed above common throughout the
Southwest?
Which clause of the Magna Carta most directly
influenced the U.S. Bill of Rights?
A
B
C
D
15
A
B
C
D
Cherokees
Mormon settlers
Mexican ranchers
Chinese railroad workers
39
41
44
19 The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution —
A
B
C
D
established a federal income tax
abolished slavery
banned cruel and unusual punishment
gave women the right to vote
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21 Use the cartoon and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
Disagreement over the issues as represented in the cartoon above led to the —
A
B
C
D
start of the American Revolution
passage of the Northwest Ordinance
formation of political parties
passage of protective tariffs
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
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22 Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense to —
A explain why the American colonies should
form an alliance with Spain
B increase public support for American independence
C criticize the military strategies of General
George Washington
D criticize King George III for his support of the
French and Indian War
23 Which was a direct result of the Battle of
Vicksburg?
A Confederate forces were unable to invade
Pennsylvania.
B Union forces were able to stop blockade
runners.
C Confederate forces attacked Washington, D.C.
D Union forces gained control of the Mississippi
River.
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
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24 Use the diagram and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
Which of the following best completes the diagram?
A
B
C
D
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gives land to the United States.
The Treaties of Velasco return land to the Republic of Texas.
The Adams-Onís Treaty transfers Florida to the United States.
The Oregon Treaty sets the boundary between the United States and Canada.
25 Use the information in the box and your knowl-
26 What geographic feature was established as a
edge of social studies to answer the following
question.
boundary for western settlement by the Proclamation of 1763?
A
B
C
D
Hudson River
Appalachian Mountains
Rocky Mountains
Great Lakes
Which of these best completes the list above?
A Overturns a Supreme Court ruling
B Becomes a revision to the federal income tax
code
C Takes effect as an international treaty
D Becomes an amendment to the U.S. Constitution
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27 Use the diagram and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
Which of these best completes the diagram?
A
B
C
D
Annex western territories
Abolish slavery
Avoid foreign alliances
Recognize states’ rights
28 The Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison established which constitutional principle?
A
B
C
D
Judicial review
Popular sovereignty
States’ rights
Implied powers
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29 Use the information in the box and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was denied the powers above because the —
A
B
C
D
courts were given absolute authority
citizens feared a strong central government
citizens lacked interest in business matters
courts were responsible for regulating business activity
30 Use the diagram and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
Which of the following best completes the sequence of events above?
A
B
C
D
The price of manufactured goods rises.
The mass production of consumer goods becomes more efficient.
The number of markets decreases.
Transportation problems limit access to markets.
31 The British surrender at the Battle of Saratoga
in 1777 is considered a turning point in the
Revolutionary War because it resulted in —
A
B
C
D
the reopening of the port of Boston
Benedict Arnold committing treason
France becoming an ally of the United States
the Continental Congress fleeing Philadelphia
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
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32 Use the map and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
The trade pattern shown on this map, known as the triangular trade, involved the direct exchange of —
A
B
C
D
fish for lumber
sugar for ivory
guns for rice
rum for slaves
33 Which statement best characterizes the condition
of African Americans in the pre—Civil War
South?
A Free blacks received lower pay than slaves.
B Blacks in the South lacked the basic rights held
by whites.
C Southerners encouraged free blacks to attend
school.
D Slaves earned low wages because they were
unskilled.
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
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34 Use the excerpt and your knowledge of social
studies to answer the following question.
It can be concluded from the excerpt above that in
Virginia the citizens —
A
B
C
D
must uphold the separation of church and state
are required to serve in the military
must perform jury duty each year
are the source of the government’s authority
35 Use the newspaper headline and your knowledge
of social studies to answer the following question.
In which year would this headline have most likely
appeared?
A
B
C
D
1787
1798
1803
1812
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
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36 Use the diagram and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
As a result of the changes in colonial America shown above, which type of government best completes the
diagram?
A
B
C
D
Monarchy
Representative democracy
Direct democracy
Aristocracy
37 The Bill of Rights includes —
39 The Puritans came to live in the Americas for the
purpose of —
A
B
C
D
the right to own slaves
women’s suffrage
freedom of the press
the right to vote by secret ballot
38 Which group most likely received the greatest
A establishing new religious communities
B creating economic opportunities for England
C preventing Spain from establishing its own
colonies
D growing new types of crops in the fertile soil
benefit from the invention of the cotton gin?
A
B
C
D
Factory managers
Irish immigrants
Plantation owners
Textile workers
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
40 Use the headline and your knowledge of social
studies to answer the following question.
SS:08
42 Use the information in the box and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following
question.
The individuals listed above are most closely
associated with the —
The newspaper headline above called for African
American men to —
A
B
C
D
abolitionist movement
temperance movement
expansionist movement
women’s suffrage movement
A rebel against plantation owners in the South
B become indentured servants and work in
northern textile mills
C enlist in the Union army
D establish an independent colony in Africa
41 Which statement explains how the steamboat
changed life along U.S. rivers?
A
B
C
D
River towns lost residents.
Manufactured goods became more accessible.
Agricultural goods became less accessible.
Rivers became energy sources.
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TAKS Grade 8 Social Studies 2009
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43 Use the table and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
Which of the following best completes this table?
A
B
C
D
Governor of Massachusetts
Minister to France
Commander in chief
Leader of the Sons of Liberty
44 Which factors encouraged the development of an
46 Before the Civil War, southern states objected to
agricultural economy in the southern colonies?
high tariffs because the tariffs led to —
A Mild summers, thin soil, and the region’s
A an increase in the price of manufactured goods
B limitations on the availability of western lands
C limitations on the profitability of mining
proximity to the ocean
B A cold climate, rocky soil, and abundant
rainfall
C A mild climate, rich soil, and a long growing
season
D Warm summers, cold winters, and little rainfall
45 Unalienable rights are best described as rights that
D an increase in the production of tobacco
47 Elizabeth Cady Stanton is best known for —
A participating in social movements in support of
women’s suffrage, temperance, and abolition
—
A
B
C
D
operations
can be transferred between people
have to be purchased
must be earned
are possessed by all people
B advocating the use of technological innovations such as the steam engine, interchangeable
parts, and the cotton gin
C promoting economic development through
tariffs and public-works projects
D supporting the creation of utopian religious
communities
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48 Use the table and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question.
Which statement is best supported by the table above?
A
B
C
D
The American Revolution was the shortest of the conflicts.
The Mexican War involved the prolonged occupation of a foreign country.
Fewer soldiers participated in the War of 1812 than in any other conflict.
More soldiers participated in the Civil War than in all the other conflicts combined.
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