History/Social Science
CST Analysis and Review
Grade 6
Grade 8 History-Social Science California Standards Test (CST)
A Few Points to Consider Beyond Content from the Released Questions
Academic Vocabulary
The following terms occur multiple times on the released questions. These terms should be
utilized regularly in classroom talk, on word walls, and on teacher made assignments and tests to
strengthen student access and understanding.
Terms (in no particular order): affect, effect, cause, refers, illustrates, influenced,
contributed, resulted in, developed, development, importance, described,
location, significant, related to, characteristic
In addition, the following terms occur frequently and are usually italicized:
best, most, primarily
Skills
At least 25% of the content questions include an element of the skills standards. The four most
cited skills from the released questions are Historical Interpretation 1 and 2, Chronological and
Spatial Thinking 3, and Research, Evidence, and Point of View 4. Activities and questions
imbedding these skills should be a regular part of instruction and assessment.
Historical Interpretation 1 = “Students explain the central issues and problems from the past,
placing people and events in a matrix of time and place.”
Sample question: (#36) “During the medieval period in Europe, the political power of the kings
and great nobles was often constrained by the actions of”
Answer: high church officials.
Historical Interpretation 2 = “Students understand and distinguish cause, effect, sequence, and
correlation in historical events, including the long- and short-term causal relations.”
Sample question: (#86) “What agricultural invention, designed to increase production, had the
effect of increasing the number of slaves needed for labor in the Deep South?”
Answer: the cotton gin
Chronological and Spatial Thinking 3 = “Students use a variety of maps and documents to identify
physical and cultural features of neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries and to explain the
historical migration of people, expansions and disintegration of empires, and the growth of
economic systems.”
See released questions #’s 17, 25, 41, 52, and 94.
Research, Evidence, and Point of View 4 = “Students assess the credibility of primary and
secondary sources and draw sound conclusions about them.”
Sample question: (#88) “Texas has been absorbed into the Union in the inevitable fulfillment of
the general law which is rolling our population westward.” Democratic Review, 1845
The quotation above describes the nineteenth-century American belief in
Answer: Manifest Destiny.
Released Questions by Grade Level
Grade 6
=
Questions 1 – 23
Grade 7
=
Questions 24 – 61
Grade 8
=
Questions 62 – 109
Released Questions by Emphasis
“A” (High Emphasis) “B” (Medium Emphasis) “C” (Low Emphasis) “*” (Not Ranked for Emphasis)
A = 53
B = 33
C= 8
* = 15
Equating Raw Scores to Performance Levels
While there is no clear equation of a students raw score on the CST to the Performance Level
Band into which they will fall, based on previous results some very good estimates can be made.
The following information is based on 2009 data, but has not changed significantly.
Raw Score
Raw Score
Raw Score
Raw Score
Raw Score
0 – 26
27 – 34
35 – 48
49 – 58
59 – 75
=
=
=
=
=
Far Below Basic
Below Basic
Basic
Proficient
Advanced
There are 75 questions on the Grade 8 HSS CST. A student must answer approximately 65 – 77%
of the questions correctly to fall into the Proficient Performance Level. Note also, that a student
must answer approximately 47 – 64% of questions correctly to fall into the Basic Performance
Level.
Opportunity also exists to move Below Basic students into the Basic Performance Level. Below
Basic students need only improve their raw score by 1 – 8 points to move from Below Basic to the
Basic Performance Level. Helping students to do this will positively impact your API. Although it
varies from school to school, History/Social Science is roughly 7.1% of API. The Periodic
Assessments allow you to identify and target students for improvement.
API Weighting Factors for Performance Levels
CST or CAPA
CAHSEE
Performance Levels Score
API
Weighting
Factors
Point Gain for Movement
Advanced
Pass
1000
1000-875 = 125
Proficient
N/A
875
875-700 = 175
Basic
N/A
700
700-500 = 200
Below Basic
N/A
500
500-200 = 300
Far Below Basic
No Pass
200
N/A
Introduction to the Curricular Map
The curricular maps allocate the time needed to teach all of the content standards adequately in
one instructional year. They are designed to assist teachers with instructional planning as well as
to develop a unified yet flexible instructional approach to History/Social Science within the Los
Angeles Unified School District.
The maps are divided into three instructional components consisting of the standard sets to be
taught, with each component comprising roughly 1/3 of the instructional time in a year–long
course. Within each instructional component, there are days allocated for each standard; within
that component, the sequence of standards and the number of instructional days may be adjusted
to best fit the needs of your students before the Periodic Assessment window. The number of
instructional days for each standard was determined by the number of “A” and “B” substandards
and the content within the standard, as well as the ten days needed to prepare for and take the
California Standards Test. The maps also build in nine days to account for other activities that
may impact classroom time (e.g. fire drills, assemblies, minimum days).
Periodic assessments are calendared at the end of each instructional component. In order for
students to be prepared for the assessment, the standard sets in each component must be
completed in the allotted time.
The curricular maps are organized in the following manner:
Standards
•
California
History/Social
Content
Standards
•
•
Blue Print Focus
Standards
The number of
questions on the CST
for each standard
The testing emphasis
for the substandards as
determined by the CDE
o “A” indicates
high emphasis
o “B” medium
o “C” low
o Standards that
are not ranked
for emphasis
and are
identified with
an asterisk (*)
Concepts
•
•
•
The California
Concepts
Collection II,
created by
•
California Council
for the Social
Studies
Concepts
highlight
important ideas
that deepen
student
understanding of
the standard.
Instructional Days
Number of days of
instruction allocated
for each standard
Differentiated
according to school
calendar
Items Specific to 8th Grade:
•
•
•
8.8 (The West) was placed before 8.6 and 8.7 (The North and The South) to create better
continuity between topics (The North, The South, The Civil War).
8.11 (Reconstruction) was calendared to comply with the Education Code, § 855,
requirement that 85% of instruction occur prior to the CST.
It is necessary to conclude instruction on Standard 8.1 at an appropriate time in order to
reach Standard 8.11 in the allocated instructional days.
GRADE 8 UNITED STATES HISTORY: GROWTH AND CONFLICT
Instructional Component 1: Foundations of America (Standards 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4)
First 9 days (traditional) and 5 days (year-round) of the Fall Semester:
• Building classroom community
• Constitution Day activities
• Thinking as a historian
• Review of American Geography
Blue Print Focus Standards:
“A” indicates high emphasis
“B” indicates medium emphasis
“C” indicates low emphasis
“*” not ranked for emphasis
Blue Print
Focus
Standards
Standards
8.1 Students understand the major events preceding the founding of the
nation and relate their significance to the development of American
constitutional democracy.
1. Describe the relationship between the moral and political ideas of the
Great Awakening and the development of revolutionary fervor.
2. Analyze the philosophy of government expressed in the Declaration of
Independence, with an emphasis on government as a means of securing
individual rights (e.g., key phrases such as "all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights").
•
3 Questions •
•
•
•
•
B
•
•
•
A
•
•
C
4. Describe the nation's blend of civic republicanism, classical liberal
principles, and English parliamentary traditions.
A
“B” indicates medium emphasis
“C” indicates low emphasis
Colonialism
Mercantilism
Enlightenment
Independence
Natural rights
Natural law
Republic
Revolution
Social contract
Sovereignty
Democracy
Instructional
Days
Traditional
Calendar
19 Days
Concept 6
Calendar
A-Track
16 Days
B-Track
14 Days
C-Track
16 Days
D-Track
3. Analyze how the American Revolution affected other nations, especially
France.
Blue Print Focus Standards:
“A” indicates high emphasis
Concepts
“*” not ranked for emphasis
Days
Four by Four
Calendar
8 Days
GRADE 8 UNITED STATES HISTORY: GROWTH AND CONFLICT
Blue Print
Focus
Standards
Standards
8.2 Students analyze the political principles underlying the U.S.
Constitution and compare the enumerated and implied powers of the
federal government.
1. Discuss the significance of the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights,
and the Mayflower Compact.
2. Analyze the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution and the
success of each in implementing the ideals of the Declaration of
Independence.
3. Evaluate the major debates that occurred during the development of the
Constitution and their ultimate resolutions in such areas as shared
power among institutions, divided state-federal power, slavery, the rights
of individuals and states (later addressed by the addition of the Bill of
Rights), and the status of American Indian Nations under the commerce
clause.
4. Describe the political philosophy underpinning the Constitution as
specified in the Federalist Papers (authored by James Madison,
Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay) and the role of such leaders as
Madison, George Washington, Roger Sherman, Gouverneur Morris, and
James Wilson in the writing and ratification of the Constitution.
5. Understand the significance of Jefferson's Statute for Religious Freedom
as a forerunner of the First Amendment and the origins, purpose, and
differing views of the founding fathers on the issue of the separation of
church and state.
6. Enumerate the powers of government set forth in the Constitution and
the fundamental liberties ensured by the Bill of Rights.
7. Describe the principles of federalism, dual sovereignty, separation of
powers, checks and balances, the nature and purpose of majority rule,
and the ways in which the American idea of constitutionalism preserves
individual rights.
Blue Print Focus Standards:
“A” indicates high emphasis
“B” indicates medium emphasis
4 Questions
“C” indicates low emphasis
C
B
Concepts
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A
B
•
•
•
•
•
•
B
•
Checks and
Balances
Confederation
Executive
power
Federalism
Judicial power
Limited
government
Legislative
power
“Living
Document”
Preamble
Representation
republic
Selfgovernment
Separation of
powers
States’ rights
A
A
“*” not ranked for emphasis
Instructional
Days
Traditional
Calendar
20 Days
Concept 6
Calendar
A-Track
19 Days
B-Track
18 Days
C-Track
22 Days
D-Track
Days
Four by
Four
Calendar
8 Days
GRADE 8 UNITED STATES HISTORY: GROWTH AND CONFLICT
Blue Print
Focus
Standards
Standards
8.3 Students understand the foundation of the American political system
and the ways in which citizens participate in it.
1. Analyze the principles and concepts codified in state constitutions
between 1777 and 1781 that created the context out of which American
political institutions and ideas developed.
2. Explain how the ordinances of 1785 and 1787 privatized national
resources and transferred federally owned lands into private holdings,
townships, and states.
3. Enumerate the advantages of a common market among the states as
foreseen in and protected by the Constitution's clauses on interstate
commerce, common coinage, and full-faith and credit.
4. Understand how the conflicts between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander
Hamilton resulted in the emergence of two political parties (e.g., view of
foreign policy, Alien and Sedition Acts, economic policy, National Bank,
funding and assumption of the revolutionary debt).
5. Know the significance of domestic resistance movements and ways in
which the central government responded to such movements (e.g.,
Shays' Rebellion, the Whiskey Rebellion).
6. Describe the basic law-making process and how the Constitution
provides numerous opportunities for citizens to participate in the political
process and to monitor and influence government (e.g., function of
elections, political parties, interest groups).
7. Understand the functions and responsibilities of a free press.
Blue Print Focus Standards:
“A” indicates high emphasis
“B” indicates medium emphasis
3 Questions
“C” indicates low emphasis
B
*
Concepts
•
•
•
•
•
Loose
construction
Strict
construction
Tariff
Federalism
Judicial
Review
*
Instructional
Days
Traditional
Calendar
12 Days
Concept 6
Calendar
A-Track
10 Days
B-Track
10 Days
C-Track
9 Days
A
B
A
*
“*” not ranked for emphasis
D-Track
Days
Four by Four
Calendar
5 Days
GRADE 8 UNITED STATES HISTORY: GROWTH AND CONFLICT
Blue Print
Focus
Standards
Standards
8.4 Students analyze the aspirations and ideals of the people of the new
nation.
2 Questions
1. Describe the country's physical landscapes, political divisions, and
territorial expansion during the terms of the first four presidents.
2. Explain the policy significance of famous speeches (e.g., Washington's
Farewell Address, Jefferson's 1801 Inaugural Address, John Q. Adams's
Fourth of July 1821 Address).
•
•
Concepts
Instructional
Days
Capitalism
Manifest
Destiny
Traditional
Calendar
8 Days
*
A-Track
7 Days
B
4. Discuss daily life, including traditions in art, music, and literature, of early
national America (e.g., through writings by Washington Irving, James
Fenimore Cooper).
A
Instructional Component 1 will end two weeks before the 1st Periodic Assessment is given.
“C” indicates low emphasis
9 Days
5 Days
B
“B” indicates medium emphasis
B-Track
C-Track
3. Analyze the rise of capitalism and the economic problems and conflicts
that accompanied it (e.g., Jackson's opposition to the National Bank;
early decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court that reinforced the sanctity of
contracts and a capitalist economic system of law).
Blue Print Focus Standards:
“A” indicates high emphasis
Concept 6
Calendar
“*” not ranked for emphasis
D-Track
Days
Four by Four
Calendar
2 Days
GRADE 8 UNITED STATES HISTORY: GROWTH AND CONFLICT
Instructional Component 2: Foreign Policy, Divergent Paths (Standards 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9)
Blue Print
Focus
Standards
Standards
Concepts
•
8.5
Students analyze U.S. foreign policy in the early Republic.
2 Questions
1. Understand the political and economic causes and consequences of the
War of 1812 and know the major battles, leaders, and events that led to
a final peace.
•
•
Manifest
Destiny
Imperialism
Foreign policy
Instructional
Days
Traditional
Calendar
9 Days
Concept 6
Calendar
A-Track
B
5 Days
B-Track
5 Days
C-Track
2. Know the changing boundaries of the United States and describe the
relationships the country had with its neighbors (current Mexico and
Canada) and Europe, including the influence of the Monroe Doctrine,
and how those relationships influenced westward expansion and the
Mexican-American War.
A
D-Track
3. Outline the major treaties with American Indian nations during the
administrations of the first four presidents and the varying outcomes of
those treaties.
*
Four by Four
Calendar
4 Days
Blue Print Focus Standards:
“A” indicates high emphasis
“B” indicates medium emphasis
“C” indicates low emphasis
8 Days
“*” not ranked for emphasis
Days
GRADE 8 UNITED STATES HISTORY: GROWTH AND CONFLICT
Blue Print
Focus
Standards
Standards
8.8 Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people in the
West from 1800 to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced.
1. Discuss the election of Andrew Jackson as president in 1828, the
importance of Jacksonian democracy, and his actions as president (e.g.,
the spoils system, veto of the National Bank, policy of Indian removal,
opposition to the Supreme Court).
2. Describe the purpose, challenges, and economic incentives associated
with westward expansion, including the concept of Manifest Destiny
(e.g., the Lewis and Clark expedition, accounts of the removal of Indians,
the Cherokees' "Trail of Tears," settlement of the Great Plains) and the
territorial acquisitions that spanned numerous decades.
3. Describe the role of pioneer women and the new status that western
women achieved (e.g., Laura Ingalls Wilder, Annie Bidwell; slave women
gaining freedom in the West; Wyoming granting suffrage to women in
1869).
4. Examine the importance of the great rivers and the struggle over water
rights.
5. Discuss Mexican settlements and their locations, cultural traditions,
attitudes toward slavery, land-grant system, and economies.
6. Describe the Texas War for Independence and the Mexican-American
War, including territorial settlements, the aftermath of the wars, and the
effects the wars had on the lives of Americans, including Mexican
Americans today.
Blue Print Focus Standards:
“A” indicates high emphasis
“B” indicates medium emphasis
Concepts
3 Questions •
“C” indicates low emphasis
A
•
•
•
A
•
•
Agrarian
economy
Frontier
Manifest
Destiny
Natural
resources
Sectionalism
Social mobility
Instructional
Days
Traditional
Calendar
15 Days
Concept 6
Calendar
A-Track
15 Days
B-Track
14 Days
C-Track
14 Days
B
B
B
A
“*” not ranked for emphasis
D-Track
Days
Four by Four
Calendar
4 Days
GRADE 8 UNITED STATES HISTORY: GROWTH AND CONFLICT
Blue Print
Focus
Standards
Standards
8.6 Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people from 1800
to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced, with emphasis on the
Northeast.
1. Discuss the influence of industrialization and
technological developments on the region, including
human modification of the landscape and how physical
geography shaped human actions (e.g., growth of cities,
deforestation, farming, mineral extraction).
2. Outline the physical obstacles to and the economic and
political factors involved in building a network of roads, canals, and
railroads (e.g., Henry Clay's American
System).
3. List the reasons for the wave of immigration from
Northern Europe to the United States and describe the
growth in the number, size, and spatial arrangements of
cities (e.g., Irish immigrants and the Great Irish Famine).
4. Study the lives of black Americans who gained freedom
in the North and founded schools and churches to
advance their rights and communities.
5. Trace the development of the American education
system from its earliest roots, including the roles of
religious and private schools and Horace Mann's
campaign for free public education and its assimilating role in American
culture.
6. Examine the women's suffrage movement (e.g.,
biographies, writings, and speeches of Elizabeth Cady
Stanton, Margaret Fuller, Lucretia Mott, Susan B.
Anthony).
7. Identify common themes in American art as well as
transcendentalism and individualism (e.g., writings about
and by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau,
Herman Melville, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel
Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow).
Blue Print Focus Standards:
“A” indicates high emphasis
“B” indicates medium emphasis
Concepts
•
3 Questions •
“C” indicates low emphasis
•
*
A
•
•
•
•
•
•
Abolition
Factory
system
Industrial
Revolution
Natural
resources
Reform
Sectionalism
Social mobility
Assimilation
Immigration
Instructional
Days
Traditional
Calendar
9 Days
Concept 6
Calendar
A-Track
10 Days
B-Track
10 Days
C-Track
9 Days
D-Track
B
Days
*
Four by Four
Calendar
6 Days
*
A
B
“*” not ranked for emphasis
GRADE 8 UNITED STATES HISTORY: GROWTH AND CONFLICT
Blue Print
Focus
Standards
Standards
Concepts
•
8.7 Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people in the
South from 1800 to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced.
2 Questions •
•
1. Describe the development of the agrarian economy in the South, identify
the locations of the cotton-producing states, and discuss the significance
of cotton and the cotton gin.
2. Trace the origins and development of slavery; its effect on black
Americans and on the region's political, social, religious, economic, and
cultural development; and identify the strategies that were tried to both
overturn and preserve it (e.g., through the writings and historical
documents on Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey).
A
•
•
Agrarian
economy
Cash crops
Natural
resources
Sectionalism
Slavery
Instructional
Days
Traditional
Calendar
11 Days
Concept 6
Calendar
A-Track
10 Days
B-Track
10 Days
C-Track
9 Days
A
D-Track
3. Examine the characteristics of white Southern society and how the
physical environment influenced events and conditions prior to the Civil
War.
C
Four by Four
Calendar
6 Days
4. Compare the lives of and opportunities for free blacks in the North with
those of free blacks in the South.
C
Blue Print Focus Standards:
“A” indicates high emphasis
“B” indicates medium emphasis
“C” indicates low emphasis
“*” not ranked for emphasis
Days
GRADE 8 UNITED STATES HISTORY: GROWTH AND CONFLICT
Standards
Blue Print
Focus
Standards
8.9 Students analyze the early and steady attempts to abolish slavery
4 Questions
and to realize the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.
1. Describe the leaders of the movement (e.g., John Quincy Adams and his
proposed constitutional amendment, John Brown and the armed
A
resistance, Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, Benjamin
Franklin, Theodore Weld, William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass).
2. Discuss the abolition of slavery in early state constitutions.
C
3. Describe the significance of the Northwest Ordinance in education and in
B
the banning of slavery in new states north of the Ohio River.
4. Discuss the importance of the slavery issue as raised by the annexation
of Texas and California's admission to the union as a free state under
A
the Compromise of 1850.
5. Analyze the significance of the States' Rights Doctrine, the Missouri
Compromise (1820), the Wilmot Proviso (1846), the Compromise of
B
1850, Henry Clay's role in the Missouri Compromise and the
Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), the Dred Scott v.
Sandford decision (1857), and the Lincoln-Douglas debates (1858).
6. Describe the lives of free blacks and the laws that limited their freedom
C
and economic opportunities.
Blue Print Focus Standards:
“A” indicates high emphasis
“B” indicates medium emphasis
“C” indicates low emphasis
Concepts
•
•
•
•
•
Abolition
Justice
Freedom
Compromise
Equality
“*” not ranked for emphasis
Instructional
Days
Traditional
Calendar
12 Days
Concept 6
Calendar
A-Track
9 Days
B-Track
10 Days
C-Track
15 Days
D-Track
Days
Four by Four
Calendar
5 Days
GRADE 8 UNITED STATES HISTORY: GROWTH AND CONFLICT
Instructional Component 3: Civil War, Reconstruction, Industrialization (Standards 8.10, 8.11, 8.12)
Blue Print
Focus
Standards
Standards
8.10 Students analyze the multiple causes, key events and complex
consequences of the Civil War.
1. Compare the conflicting interpretations of state and federal authority as
emphasized in the speeches and writings of statesmen such as Daniel
Webster and John C. Calhoun.
4 Questions •
•
•
•
A
•
2. Trace the boundaries constituting the North and the South, the
geographical differences between the two regions, and the differences
between agrarians and industrialists.
3. Identify the constitutional issues posed by the doctrine of nullification and
secession and the earliest origins of that doctrine.
B
Concept 6
Calendar
15 Days
B-Track
C-Track
B
13 Days
D-Track
Days
5. Study the views and lives of leaders (e.g., Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson
Davis, Robert E. Lee) and soldiers on both sides of the war, including
those of black soldiers and regiments.
B
6. Describe critical developments and events in the war, including the
major battles, geographical advantages and obstacles, technological
advances, and General Lee's surrender at Appomattox.
A
7. Explain how the war affected combatants, civilians, the physical
environment, and future warfare.
*
“C” indicates low emphasis
Traditional
Calendar
15 Days
14 Days
A
“B” indicates medium emphasis
Emancipation
Civil War
Nullification
Secession
Sovereignty
Instructional
Days
A-Track
4. Discuss Abraham Lincoln's presidency and his significant writings and
speeches and their relationship to the Declaration of Independence,
such as his "House Divided" speech (1858), Gettysburg Address (1863),
Emancipation Proclamation (1863), and inaugural addresses (1861 and
1865).
Blue Print Focus Standards:
“A” indicates high emphasis
Concepts
“*” not ranked for emphasis
Four by Four
Calendar
5 Days
GRADE 8 UNITED STATES HISTORY: GROWTH AND CONFLICT
Blue Print
Focus
Standards
Standards
8.11 Students analyze the character and lasting consequences of
Reconstruction.
1. List the original aims of Reconstruction and describe its effects on the
political and social structures of different regions.
3 Questions •
•
•
A
•
•
2. Identify the push-pull factors in the movement of former slaves to the
cities in the North and to the West and their differing experiences in
those regions (e.g., the experiences of Buffalo Soldiers).
C
“C” indicates low emphasis
Traditional
Calendar
10 Days
Concept 6
Calendar
A-Track
11 Days
7 Days
4. Trace the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and describe the Klan's effects.
“B” indicates medium emphasis
Instructional
Days
B-Track
A
Blue Print Focus Standards:
“A” indicates high emphasis
Impeachment
Reconstruction
Segregation
Discrimination
Civil Rights
C
3. Understand the effects of the Freedmen's Bureau and the restrictions
placed on the rights and opportunities of freedmen, including racial
segregation and "Jim Crow" laws.
5. Understand the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the
Constitution and analyze their connection to Reconstruction.
Concepts
C-Track
9 Days
D-Track
A
“*” not ranked for emphasis
Days
Four by Four
Calendar
5 Days
GRADE 8 UNITED STATES HISTORY: GROWTH AND CONFLICT
Blue Print
Focus
Standards
Standards
8.12 Students analyze the transformation of the American economy and the
changing social and political conditions in the United States in response to the
Industrial Revolution.
1. Trace patterns of agricultural and industrial development as they relate to
climate, use of natural resources, markets, and trade and locate such
development on a map.
2 Questions
C
A
3. Explain how states and the federal government encouraged business
expansion through tariffs, banking, land grants, and subsidies.
C
4. Discuss entrepreneurs, industrialists, and bankers in politics, commerce, and
industry (e.g., Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Leland Stanford).
A
5. Examine the location and effects of urbanization, renewed immigration, and
industrialization (e.g., the effects on social fabric of cities, wealth and economic
opportunity, the conservation movement).
B
6. Discuss child labor, working conditions, and laissez-faire policies toward big
business and examine the labor movement, including its leaders (e.g., Samuel
Gompers), its demand for collective bargaining, and its strikes and protests
over labor conditions.
B
7. Identify the new sources of large-scale immigration and the contributions of
immigrants to the building of cities and the economy; explain the ways in which
new social and economic patterns encouraged assimilation of newcomers into
the mainstream amidst growing cultural diversity; and discuss the new wave of
nativism.
C
8. Identify the characteristics and impact of Grangerism and Populism.
C
9. Name the significant inventors and their inventions and identify how they
improved the quality of life (e.g., Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell,
Orville and Wilbur Wright).
C
“B” indicates medium emphasis
“C” indicates low emphasis
•
•
2. Identify the reasons for the development of federal Indian policy and the wars
with American Indians and their relationship to agricultural development and
industrialization.
Blue Print Focus Standards:
“A” indicates high emphasis
Concepts
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Labor
movement
Mass
production
“Melting Pot”
Progressive
“Spoils
System”
Unionism
Urbanization
Economic
growth
Capitalism
Immigration
“*” not ranked for emphasis
Instructional
Days
Traditional
Calendar
12 Days
Concept 6
Calendar
A-Track
11 Days
B-Track
11 Days
C-Track
8 Days
D-Track
Days
Four by Four
Calendar
5 Days
Textbook Correlation for the 8th Grade Standards
Prentice Hall
McDougal Littell
TCI
America: History of
Our Nation 2006
Creating America:
Beginnings Through
WWI
History Alive! The
United States
Through Industrialism
8.1
Chapters:
1,2
Chapters:
5,6,7
Chapters:
4,6
8.2
Chapters:
3
Chapters:
8
Chapters:
8,9,10
8.3
Chapters:
4
Chapters:
8,9
Chapters:
10,11
8.4
Chapters:
4,5,6,8
Chapters:
10,12,14
Chapters:
12,13
8.5
Chapters:
5,6
Chapters:
10,11
Chapters:
12
8.6
Chapters:
6,7,8
Chapters:
11,14
Chapters:
18,19,20
8.7
Chapters:
7
Chapters:
11
Chapters:
19,20
8.8
Chapters:
5,6,9
Chapters:
10,12,13
Chapters:
14,15,16,17
8.9
Chapters:
7,8,10
Chapters:
14,15
Chapters:
21
8.10
Chapters:
10,11,12
Chapters:
12,16,17
Chapters:
22
8.11
Chapters:
12,15
Chapters:
18
Chapters:
23
8.12
Chapters:
13,14,15
Chapters:
19,20,21
Chapters:
24,25,26,27
STANDARD
G R A D E
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
8
Introduction - Grade 6 – 8 History–Social Science
The following released test questions are taken from the Grade 6 – 8 History–Social Science Standards Test.
The test is administered to students in grade 8, covering the standards for grades 6, 7, and 8. This test is one of
the California Standards Tests administered as part of the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program
under policies set by the State Board of Education.
All questions on the California Standards Tests are evaluated by committees of content experts, including
teachers and administrators, to ensure their appropriateness for measuring the California academic content and
skills standards in Grade 6 – 8 History–Social Science. In addition to content, all items are reviewed and
approved to ensure their adherence to the principles of fairness and to ensure no bias exists with respect to
characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, and language.
This document contains released test questions from the California Standards Test forms in 2003, 2004, 2005,
2006, 2007, and 2008. First on the pages that follow are lists of the standards assessed on the Grade 6 – 8
History–Social Science Test. Next are released test questions. Following the questions is a table that gives the
correct answer for each question, the content and skills (where applicable) standard that each question is
measuring, and the year each question last appeared on the test.
The following table lists each reporting cluster, the number of items that appear on the exam, and the number
of released test questions that appear in this document.
NUMBER OF
QUESTIONS
ON EXAM
NUMBER OF
RELEASED
TEST QUESTIONS
1. World History and Geography: Ancient Civilizations
16
23
2. Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages
14
22
3. Renaissance/Reformation
10
16
4. U.S. Constitution and the Early Republic
22
29
5. Civil War and Its Aftermath
13
19
TOTAL
75
109
REPORTING CLUSTER
In selecting test questions for release, three criteria are used: (1) the questions adequately cover a selection of
the academic content standards assessed on the Grade 6 – 8 History–Social Science Test; (2) the questions
demonstrate a range of difficulty; and (3) the questions present a variety of ways standards can be assessed.
These released test questions do not reflect all of the ways the standards may be assessed. Released test
questions will not appear on future tests.
For more information about the California Standards Tests, visit the California Department of Education’s
Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/resources.asp.
— 1 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E 8
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
REPORTING CLUSTER 1: World History and Geography: Ancient Civilizations
The following seven California content standards (indicated by bold type) are included in Reporting Cluster 1
and are represented in this booklet by 23 test questions. These questions represent only some ways in which
these standards may be assessed on the Grade 6 – 8 California History–Social Science Standards Test.
CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARDS IN THIS REPORTING CLUSTER
World History and Geography: Ancient Civilizations (Grade 6)
WH6.1 Students describe what is known through archaeological studies of the early
physical and cultural development of humankind from the Paleolithic era to the
agricultural revolution.
WH6.1.1.
Describe the hunter-gatherer societies, including the development of tools and the use
of fire.
WH6.1.2.
Identify the locations of human communities that populated the major regions of the
world and describe how humans adapted to a variety of environments.
WH6.1.3.
Discuss the climatic changes and human modifications of the physical environment that
gave rise to the domestication of plants and animals and new sources of clothing and
shelter.
WH6.2
Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social
structures of the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Kush.
WH6.2.1.
Locate and describe the major river systems and discuss the physical settings that
supported permanent settlement and early civilizations.
WH6.2.2.
Trace the development of agricultural techniques that permitted the production of
economic surplus and the emergence of cities as centers of culture and power.
WH6.2.3.
Understand the relationship between religion and the social and political order in
Mesopotamia and Egypt.
WH6.2.4.
Know the significance of Hammurabi’s Code.
WH6.2.5.
Discuss the main features of Egyptian art and architecture.
WH6.2.6.
Describe the role of Egyptian trade in the eastern Mediterranean and Nile valley.
WH6.2.7.
Understand the significance of Queen Hatshepsut and Ramses the Great.
WH6.2.8.
Identify the location of the Kush civilization and describe its political, commercial, and
cultural relations with Egypt.
WH6.2.9.
Trace the evolution of language and its written forms.
WH6.3
Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social
structures of the Ancient Hebrews.
WH6.3.1.
Describe the origins and significance of Judaism as the first monotheistic religion based
on the concept of one God who sets down moral laws for humanity.
WH6.3.2.
Identify the sources of the ethical teachings and central beliefs of Judaism (the Hebrew
Bible, the Commentaries): belief in God, observance of law, practice of the concepts of
righteousness and justice, and importance of study; and describe how the ideas of the
Hebrew traditions are reflected in the moral and ethical traditions of Western civilization.
WH6.3.3.
Explain the significance of Abraham, Moses, Naomi, Ruth, David, and Yohanan ben
Zaccai in the development of the Jewish religion.
— 2 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
WH6.3.4.
Discuss the locations of the settlements and movements of Hebrew peoples, including
the Exodus and their movement to and from Egypt, and outline the significance of the
Exodus to the Jewish and other people.
WH6.3.5.
Discuss how Judaism survived and developed despite the continuing dispersion of
much of the Jewish population from Jerusalem and the rest of Israel after the
destruction of the second Temple in A.D. 70.
WH6.4
Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social
structures of the early civilization of Ancient Greece.
WH6.4.1.
Discuss the connections between geography and the development of city-states in the
region of the Aegean Sea, including patterns of trade and commerce among Greek
city-states and within the wider Mediterranean region.
WH6.4.2.
Trace the transition from tyranny and oligarchy to early democratic forms of government
and back to dictatorship in ancient Greece, including the significance of the invention of
the idea of citizenship (e.g., from Pericles’ Funeral Oration).
WH6.4.3.
State the key differences between Athenian, or direct, democracy and representative
democracy.
WH6.4.4.
Explain the significance of Greek mythology to the everyday life of people in the region
and how Greek literature continues to permeate our literature and language today,
drawing from Greek mythology and epics, such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, and from
Aesop’s Fables.
WH6.4.5.
Outline the founding, expansion, and political organization of the Persian Empire.
WH6.4.6.
Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta, with emphasis on their roles in the
Persian and Peloponnesian Wars.
WH6.4.7.
Trace the rise of Alexander the Great and the spread of Greek culture eastward and
into Egypt.
WH6.4.8.
Describe the enduring contributions of important Greek figures in the arts and sciences
(e.g., Hypatia, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Thucydides).
WH6.5
Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social
structures of the early civilizations of India.
WH6.5.1.
Locate and describe the major river system and discuss the physical setting that
supported the rise of this civilization.
WH6.5.2.
Discuss the significance of the Aryan invasions.
WH6.5.3.
Explain the major beliefs and practices of Brahmanism in India and how they evolved
into early Hinduism.
WH6.5.4.
Outline the social structure of the caste system.
WH6.5.5.
Know the life and moral teachings of Buddha and how Buddhism spread in India,
Ceylon, and Central Asia.
WH6.5.6.
Describe the growth of the Maurya empire and the political and moral achievements of
the emperor Asoka.
WH6.5.7.
Discuss important aesthetic and intellectual traditions (e.g., Sanskrit literature, including
the Bhagavad Gita; medicine; metallurgy; and mathematics, including Hindu-Arabic
numerals and the zero).
WH6.6
Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social
structures of the early civilizations of China.
WH6.6.1.
Locate and describe the origins of Chinese civilization in the Huang-He Valley during
the Shang Dynasty.
— 3 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
8
G R A D E
8
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
WH6.6.2.
Explain the geographic features of China that made governance and the spread of ideas
and goods difficult and served to isolate the country from the rest of the world.
WH6.6.3.
Know about the life of Confucius and the fundamental teachings of Confucianism and
Taoism.
WH6.6.4.
Identify the political and cultural problems prevalent in the time of Confucius and how he
sought to solve them.
WH6.6.5.
List the policies and achievements of the emperor Shi Huangdi in unifying northern
China under the Qin Dynasty.
WH6.6.6.
Detail the political contributions of the Han Dynasty to the development of the imperial
bureaucratic state and the expansion of the empire.
WH6.6.7.
Cite the significance of the trans-Eurasian “silk roads” in the period of the Han Dynasty
and Roman Empire and their locations.
WH6.6.8.
Describe the diffusion of Buddhism northward to China during the Han Dynasty.
WH6.7
Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social
structures during the development of Rome.
WH6.7.1.
Identify the location and describe the rise of the Roman Republic, including the
importance of such mythical and historical figures as Aeneas, Romulus and Remus,
Cincinnatus, Julius Caesar, and Cicero.
WH6.7.2.
Describe the government of the Roman Republic and its significance (e.g., written
constitution and tripartite government, checks and balances, civic duty).
WH6.7.3.
Identify the location of and the political and geographic reasons for the growth of Roman
territories and expansion of the empire, including how the empire fostered economic
growth through the use of currency and trade routes.
WH6.7.4.
Discuss the influence of Julius Caesar and Augustus in Rome’s transition from republic
to empire.
WH6.7.5.
Trace the migration of Jews around the Mediterranean region and the effects of their
conflict with the Romans, including the Romans’ restrictions on their right to live in
Jerusalem.
WH6.7.6.
Note the origins of Christianity in the Jewish Messianic prophecies, the life and
teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament, and the contribution
of St. Paul the Apostle to the definition and spread of Christian beliefs (e.g., belief in the
Trinity, resurrection, salvation).
WH6.7.7.
Describe the circumstances that led to the spread of Christianity in Europe and other
Roman territories.
WH6.7.8.
Discuss the legacies of Roman art and architecture, technology and science, literature,
language, and law.
— 4 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
G R A D E
8
REPORTING CLUSTER 2: Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages
The following seven California content standards (indicated by bold type) are included in Reporting Cluster 2
and are represented in this booklet by 22 test questions. These questions represent only some ways in which
these standards may be assessed on the Grade 6 – 8 California History–Social Science Standards Test.
CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARDS IN THIS REPORTING CLUSTER
Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages (Grade 7)
WH7.1
Students analyze the causes and effects of the vast expansion and ultimate
disintegration of the Roman Empire.
WH7.1.1.
Study the early strengths and lasting contributions of Rome (e.g., significance of Roman
citizenship; rights under Roman law; Roman art, architecture, engineering, and
philosophy; preservation and transmission of Christianity) and its ultimate internal
weaknesses (e.g., rise of autonomous military powers within the empire, undermining of
citizenship by the growth of corruption and slavery, lack of education, and distribution of
news).
WH7.1.2.
Discuss the geographic borders of the empire at its height and the factors that
threatened its territorial cohesion.
WH7.1.3.
Describe the establishment by Constantine of the new capital in Constantinople and the
development of the Byzantine Empire, with an emphasis on the consequences of the
development of two distinct European civilizations, Eastern Orthodox and Roman
Catholic, and their two distinct views on church-state relations.
WH7.2
Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social
structures of civilizations of Islam in the Middle Ages.
WH7.2.1.
Identify the physical features and describe the climate of the Arabian peninsula, its
relationship to surrounding bodies of land and water, and nomadic and sedentary ways
of life.
WH7.2.2.
Trace the origins of Islam and the life and teachings of Muhammad, including Islamic
teachings on the connection with Judaism and Christianity.
WH7.2.3.
Explain the significance of the Qur’an and the Sunnah as the primary sources of Islamic
beliefs, practice, and law, and their influence in Muslims’ daily life.
WH7.2.4.
Discuss the expansion of Muslim rule through military conquests and treaties,
emphasizing the cultural blending within Muslim civilization and the spread and
acceptance of Islam and the Arabic language.
WH7.2.5.
Describe the growth of cities and the establishment of trade routes among Asia, Africa,
and Europe, the products and inventions that traveled along these routes (e.g., spices,
textiles, paper, steel, new crops), and the role of merchants in Arab society.
WH7.2.6.
Understand the intellectual exchanges among Muslim scholars of Eurasia and Africa
and the contributions Muslim scholars made to later civilizations in the areas of science,
geography, mathematics, philosophy, medicine, art, and literature.
WH7.3
Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social
structures of the civilizations of China in the Middle Ages.
WH7.3.1.
Describe the reunification of China under the Tang Dynasty and reasons for the spread
of Buddhism in Tang China, Korea, and Japan.
— 5 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
8
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
WH7.3.2.
Describe agricultural, technological, and commercial developments during the Tang and
Sung periods.
WH7.3.3.
Analyze the influences of Confucianism and changes in Confucian thought during the
Sung and Mongol periods.
WH7.3.4.
Understand the importance of both overland trade and maritime expeditions between
China and other civilizations in the Mongol Ascendancy and Ming Dynasty.
WH7.3.5.
Trace the historic influence of such discoveries as tea, the manufacture of paper,
wood-block printing, the compass, and gunpowder.
WH7.3.6.
Describe the development of the imperial state and the scholar-official class.
WH7.4
Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social
structures of the sub-Saharan civilizations of Ghana and Mali in Medieval Africa.
WH7.4.1.
Study the Niger River and the relationship of vegetation zones of forest, savannah, and
desert to trade in gold, salt, food, and slaves; and the growth of the Ghana and Mali
empires.
WH7.4.2.
Analyze the importance of family, labor specialization, and regional commerce in the
development of states and cities in West Africa.
WH7.4.3.
Describe the role of the trans-Saharan caravan trade in the changing religious and
cultural characteristics of West Africa and the influence of Islamic beliefs, ethics, and
law.
WH7.4.4.
Trace the growth of the Arabic language in government, trade, and Islamic scholarship
in West Africa.
WH7.4.5.
Describe the importance of written and oral traditions in the transmission of African
history and culture.
WH7.5
Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social
structures of the civilizations of Medieval Japan.
WH7.5.1.
Describe the significance of Japan’s proximity to China and Korea and the intellectual,
linguistic, religious, and philosophical influence of those countries on Japan.
WH7.5.2.
Discuss the reign of Prince Shotoku of Japan and the characteristics of Japanese
society and family life during his reign.
WH7.5.3.
Describe the values, social customs, and traditions prescribed by the lord-vassal system
consisting of shogun, daimyo, and samurai and the lasting influence of the warrior code
in the twentieth century.
WH7.5.4.
Trace the development of distinctive forms of Japanese Buddhism.
WH7.5.5.
Study the ninth and tenth centuries’ golden age of literature, art, and drama and its
lasting effects on culture today, including Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji.
WH7.5.6.
Analyze the rise of a military society in the late twelfth century and the role of the
samurai in that society.
WH7.6
Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social
structures of the civilizations of Medieval Europe.
WH7.6.1.
Study the geography of the Europe and the Eurasian land mass, including its location,
topography, waterways, vegetation, and climate and their relationship to ways of life in
Medieval Europe.
WH7.6.2.
Describe the spread of Christianity north of the Alps and the roles played by the early
church and by monasteries in its diffusion after the fall of the western half of the Roman
Empire.
— 6 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
WH7.6.3.
Understand the development of feudalism, its role in the medieval European economy,
the way in which it was influenced by physical geography (the role of the manor and the
growth of towns), and how feudal relationships provided the foundation of political order.
WH7.6.4.
Demonstrate an understanding of the conflict and cooperation between the Papacy and
European monarchs (e.g., Charlemagne, Gregory VII, Emperor Henry IV).
WH7.6.5.
Know the significance of developments in medieval English legal and constitutional
practices and their importance in the rise of modern democratic thought and
representative institutions (e.g., Magna Carta, parliament, development of habeas
corpus, an independent judiciary in England).
WH7.6.6.
Discuss the causes and course of the religious Crusades and their effects on the
Christian, Muslim, and Jewish populations in Europe, with emphasis on the increasing
contact by Europeans with cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean world.
WH7.6.7.
Map the spread of the bubonic plague from Central Asia to China, the Middle East, and
Europe and describe its impact on global population.
WH7.6.8.
Understand the importance of the Catholic church as a political, intellectual, and
aesthetic institution (e.g., founding of universities, political and spiritual roles of the
clergy, creation of monastic and mendicant religious orders, preservation of the Latin
language and religious texts, St. Thomas Aquinas’s synthesis of classical philosophy
with Christian theology, and the concept of “natural law”).
WH7.6.9.
Know the history of the decline of Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula that culminated
in the Reconquista and the rise of Spanish and Portuguese kingdoms.
WH7.7
Students compare and contrast the geographic, political, economic, religious, and
social structures of the Mesoamerican and Andean civilizations.
WH7.7.1.
Study the locations, landforms, and climates of Mexico, Central America, and South
America and their effects on Mayan, Aztec, and Incan economies, trade, and
development of urban societies.
WH7.7.2.
Study the roles of people in each society, including class structures, family life, warfare,
religious beliefs and practices, and slavery.
WH7.7.3.
Explain how and where each empire arose and how the Aztec and Incan empires were
defeated by the Spanish.
WH7.7.4.
Describe the artistic and oral traditions and architecture in the three civilizations.
WH7.7.5.
Describe the Meso-American achievements in astronomy and mathematics, including
the development of the calendar and the Meso-American knowledge of seasonal
changes to the civilizations’ agricultural systems.
— 7 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
8
G R A D E
8
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
REPORTING CLUSTER 3: Renaissance/Reformation
The following four California content standards (indicated by bold type) are included in Reporting Cluster 3
and are represented in this booklet by 16 test questions. These questions represent only some ways in which
these standards may be assessed on the Grade 6 – 8 California History–Social Science Standards Test.
CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARDS IN THIS REPORTING CLUSTER
Renaissance/Reformation (Grade 7)
WH7.8
Students analyze the origins, accomplishments, and geographic diffusion of the
Renaissance.
WH7.8.1.
Describe the way in which the revival of classical learning and the arts fostered a new
interest in humanism (i.e., a balance between intellect and religious faith).
WH7.8.2.
Explain the importance of Florence in the early stages of the Renaissance and the
growth of independent trading cities (e.g., Venice), with emphasis on the cities’
importance in the spread of Renaissance ideas.
WH7.8.3.
Understand the effects of the reopening of the ancient “Silk Road” between Europe and
China, including Marco Polo’s travels and the location of his routes.
WH7.8.4.
Describe the growth and effects of new ways of disseminating information (e.g., the
ability to manufacture paper, translation of the Bible into the vernacular, printing).
WH7.8.5.
Detail advances made in literature, the arts, science, mathematics, cartography,
engineering, and the understanding of human anatomy and astronomy (e.g., by Dante
Alighieri, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo di Buonarroti Simoni, Johann Gutenberg,
William Shakespeare).
WH7.9
Students analyze the historical developments of the Reformation.
WH7.9.1.
List the causes for the internal turmoil in and weakening of the Catholic church (e.g., tax
policies, selling of indulgences).
WH7.9.2.
Describe the theological, political, and economic ideas of the major figures during the
Reformation (e.g., Desiderius Erasmus, Martin Luther, John Calvin, William Tyndale).
WH7.9.3.
Explain Protestants’ new practices of church self-government and the influence of those
practices on the development of democratic practices and ideas of federalism.
WH7.9.4.
Identify and locate the European regions that remained Catholic and those that became
Protestant and explain how the division affected the distribution of religions in the New
World.
WH7.9.5.
Analyze how the Counter-Reformation revitalized the Catholic church and the forces
that fostered the movement (e.g., St. Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits, the Council of
Trent).
WH7.9.6.
Understand the institution and impact of missionaries on Christianity and the diffusion of
Christianity from Europe to other parts of the world in the medieval and early modern
periods; locate missions on a world map.
WH7.9.7.
Describe the Golden Age of cooperation between Jews and Muslims in medieval Spain
that promoted creativity in art, literature, and science, including how that cooperation
was terminated by the religious persecution of individuals and groups (e.g., the Spanish
Inquisition and the expulsion of Jews and Muslims from Spain in 1492).
WH7.10
Students analyze the historical developments of the Scientific Revolution and its
lasting effect on religious, political, and cultural institutions.
— 8 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
WH7.10.1.
Discuss the roots of the Scientific Revolution (e.g., Greek rationalism; Jewish, Christian,
and Muslim science; Renaissance humanism; new knowledge from global exploration).
WH7.10.2.
Understand the significance of the new scientific theories (e.g., those of Copernicus,
Galileo, Kepler, Newton) and the significance of new inventions (e.g., the telescope,
microscope, thermometer, barometer).
WH7.10.3.
Understand the scientific method advanced by Bacon and Descartes, the influence of
new scientific rationalism on the growth of democratic ideas, and the coexistence of
science with traditional religious beliefs.
WH7.11
Students analyze political and economic change in the sixteenth, seventeenth,
and eighteenth centuries (the Age of Exploration, the Enlightenment, and the Age
of Reason).
WH7.11.1.
Know the great voyages of discovery, the locations of the routes, and the influence of
cartography in the development of a new European worldview.
WH7.11.2.
Discuss the exchanges of plants, animals, technology, culture, and ideas among
Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and the
major economic and social effects on each continent.
WH7.11.3.
Examine the origins of modern capitalism; the influence of mercantilism and cottage
industry; the elements and importance of a market economy in seventeenth-century
Europe; the changing international trading and marketing patterns, including their
locations on a world map; and the influence of explorers and map makers.
WH7.11.4.
Explain how the main ideas of the Enlightenment can be traced back to such
movements as the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution and to
the Greeks, Romans, and Christianity.
WH7.11.5.
Describe how democratic thought and institutions were influenced by Enlightenment
thinkers (e.g., John Locke, Charles-Louis Montesquieu, American founders).
WH7.11.6.
Discuss how the principles in the Magna Carta were embodied in such documents as
the English Bill of Rights and the American Declaration of Independence.
— 9 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
8
G R A D E
8
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
REPORTING CLUSTER 4: U.S. Constitution and the Early Republic
The following eight California content standards (indicated by bold type) are included in Reporting Cluster 4
and are represented in this booklet by 29 test questions. These questions represent only some ways in which
these standards may be assessed on the Grade 6 – 8 California History–Social Science Standards Test.
CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARDS IN THIS REPORTING CLUSTER
U.S. Constitution and the Early Republic (Grade 8)
US8.1
Students understand the major events preceding the founding of the nation and
relate their significance to the development of American constitutional
democracy.
US8.1.1.
Describe the relationship between the moral and political ideas of the Great Awakening
and the development of revolutionary fervor.
US8.1.2.
Analyze the philosophy of government expressed in the Declaration of Independence,
with an emphasis on government as a means of securing individual rights (e.g., key
phrases such as “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights”).
US8.1.3.
Analyze how the American Revolution affected other nations, especially France.
US8.1.4.
Describe the nation’s blend of civic republicanism, classical liberal principles, and
English parliamentary traditions.
US8.2
Students analyze the political principles underlying the U.S. Constitution and
compare the enumerated and implied powers of the federal government.
US8.2.1.
Discuss the significance of the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, and the
Mayflower Compact.
US8.2.2.
Analyze the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution and the success of each in
implementing the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.
US8.2.3.
Evaluate the major debates that occurred during the development of the Constitution
and their ultimate resolutions in such areas as shared power among institutions, divided
state-federal power, slavery, the rights of individuals and states (later addressed by the
addition of the Bill of Rights), and the status of American Indian nations under the
commerce clause.
US8.2.4.
Describe the political philosophy underpinning the Constitution as specified in the
Federalist Papers (authored by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay) and
the role of such leaders as Madison, George Washington, Roger Sherman, Gouverneur
Morris, and James Wilson in the writing and ratification of the Constitution.
US8.2.5.
Understand the significance of Jefferson’s Statute for Religious Freedom as a
forerunner of the First Amendment and the origins, purpose, and differing views of the
founding fathers on the issue of the separation of church and state.
US8.2.6.
Enumerate the powers of government set forth in the Constitution and the fundamental
liberties ensured by the Bill of Rights.
US8.2.7.
Describe the principles of federalism, dual sovereignty, separation of powers, checks
and balances, the nature and purpose of majority rule, and the ways in which the
American idea of constitutionalism preserves individual rights.
US8.3
Students understand the foundation of the American political system and the
ways in which citizens participate in it.
— 10 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
US8.3.1.
Analyze the principles and concepts codified in state constitutions between 1777 and
1781 that created the context out of which American political institutions and ideas
developed.
US8.3.2.
Explain how the ordinances of 1785 and 1787 privatized national resources and
transferred federally owned lands into private holdings, townships, and states.
US8.3.3.
Enumerate the advantages of a common market among the states as foreseen in and
protected by the Constitution’s clauses on interstate commerce, common coinage, and
full-faith and credit.
US8.3.4.
Understand how the conflicts between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton
resulted in the emergence of two political parties (e.g., view of foreign policy, Alien and
Sedition Acts, economic policy, National Bank, funding and assumption of the
revolutionary debt).
US8.3.5.
Know the significance of domestic resistance movements and ways in which the central
government responded to such movements (e.g., Shays’ Rebellion, the Whiskey
Rebellion).
US8.3.6.
Describe the basic law-making process and how the Constitution provides numerous
opportunities for citizens to participate in the political process and to monitor and
influence government (e.g., function of elections, political parties, interest groups).
US8.3.7.
Understand the functions and responsibilities of a free press.
US8.4
Students analyze the aspirations and ideals of the people of the new nation.
US8.4.1.
Describe the country’s physical landscapes, political divisions, and territorial expansion
during the terms of the first four presidents.
US8.4.2.
Explain the policy significance of famous speeches (e.g., Washington’s Farewell
Address, Jefferson’s 1801 Inaugural Address, John Q. Adams’s Fourth of July 1821
Address).
US8.4.3.
Analyze the rise of capitalism and the economic problems and conflicts that
accompanied it (e.g., Jackson’s opposition to the National Bank; early decisions of the
U.S. Supreme Court that reinforced the sanctity of contracts and a capitalist economic
system of law).
US8.4.4.
Discuss daily life, including traditions in art, music, and literature, of early national
America (e.g., through writings by Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper).
US8.5
Students analyze U.S. foreign policy in the early Republic.
US8.5.1.
Understand the political and economic causes and consequences of the War of 1812
and know the major battles, leaders, and events that led to a final peace.
US8.5.2.
Know the changing boundaries of the United States and describe the relationships the
country had with its neighbors (current Mexico and Canada) and Europe, including the
influence of the Monroe Doctrine, and how those relationships influenced westward
expansion and the Mexican-American War.
US8.5.3.
Outline the major treaties with American Indian nations during the administrations of the
first four presidents and the varying outcomes of those treaties.
US8.6
Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people from 1800 to the
mid-1800s and the challenges they faced, with emphasis on the Northeast.
US8.6.1.
Discuss the influence of industrialization and technological developments on the region,
including human modification of the landscape and how physical geography shaped
human actions (e.g., growth of cities, deforestation, farming, mineral extraction).
US8.6.2.
Outline the physical obstacles to and the economic and political factors involved in
building a network of roads, canals, and railroads (e.g., Henry Clay’s American System).
— 11 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
8
G R A D E 8
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
US8.6.3.
List the reasons for the wave of immigration from Northern Europe to the United States
and describe the growth in the number, size, and spatial arrangements of cities (e.g.,
Irish immigrants and the Great Irish Famine).
US8.6.4.
Study the lives of black Americans who gained freedom in the North and founded
schools and churches to advance their rights and communities.
US8.6.5.
Trace the development of the American education system from its earliest roots,
including the roles of religious and private schools and Horace Mann’s campaign for
free public education and its assimilating role in American culture.
US8.6.6.
Examine the women’s suffrage movement (e.g., biographies, writings, and speeches of
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Margaret Fuller, Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony).
US8.6.7.
Identify common themes in American art as well as transcendentalism and individualism
(e.g., writings about and by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Herman
Melville, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow).
US8.7
Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people in the South from
1800 to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced.
US8.7.1.
Describe the development of the agrarian economy in the South, identify the locations
of the cotton-producing states, and discuss the significance of cotton and the cotton gin.
US8.7.2.
Trace the origins and development of slavery; its effects on black Americans and on the
region’s political, social, religious, economic, and cultural development; and identify the
strategies that were tried to both overturn and preserve it (e.g., through the writings and
historical documents on Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey).
US8.7.3.
Examine the characteristics of white Southern society and how the physical
environment influenced events and conditions prior to the Civil War.
US8.7.4.
Compare the lives of and opportunities for free blacks in the North with those of free
blacks in the South.
US8.8
Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people in the West from
1800 to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced.
US8.8.1.
Discuss the election of Andrew Jackson as president in 1828, the importance of
Jacksonian democracy, and his actions as president (e.g., the spoils system, veto of the
National Bank, policy of Indian removal, opposition to the Supreme Court).
US8.8.2.
Describe the purpose, challenges, and economic incentives associated with westward
expansion, including the concept of Manifest Destiny (e.g., the Lewis and Clark
expedition, accounts of the removal of Indians, the Cherokees’ “Trail of Tears,”
settlement of the Great Plains) and the territorial acquisitions that spanned numerous
decades.
US8.8.3.
Describe the role of pioneer women and the new status that western women achieved
(e.g., Laura Ingalls Wilder, Annie Bidwell; slave women gaining freedom in the West;
Wyoming granting suffrage to women in 1869).
US8.8.4.
Examine the importance of the great rivers and the struggle over water rights.
US8.8.5.
Discuss Mexican settlements and their locations, cultural traditions, attitudes toward
slavery, land-grant system, and economies.
US8.8.6.
Describe the Texas War for Independence and the Mexican-American War, including
territorial settlements, the aftermath of the wars, and the effects the wars had on the
lives of Americans, including Mexican Americans today.
— 12 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
G R A D E
8
REPORTING CLUSTER 5: Civil War and Its Aftermath
The following four California content standards (indicated by bold type) are included in Reporting Cluster 5
and are represented in this booklet by 19 test questions. These questions represent only some ways in which
these standards may be assessed on the Grade 6 – 8 California History–Social Science Standards Test.
CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARDS IN THIS REPORTING CLUSTER
Civil War and Its Aftermath (Grade 8)
US8.9
Students analyze the early and steady attempts to abolish slavery and to realize
the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.
US8.9.1.
Describe the leaders of the movement (e.g., John Quincy Adams and his proposed
constitutional amendment, John Brown and the armed resistance, Harriet Tubman and
the Underground Railroad, Benjamin Franklin, Theodore Weld, William Lloyd Garrison,
Frederick Douglass).
US8.9.2.
Discuss the abolition of slavery in early state constitutions.
US8.9.3.
Describe the significance of the Northwest Ordinance in education and in the banning of
slavery in new states north of the Ohio River.
US8.9.4.
Discuss the importance of the slavery issue as raised by the annexation of Texas and
California’s admission to the union as a free state under the Compromise of 1850.
US8.9.5.
Analyze the significance of the States’ Rights Doctrine, the Missouri Compromise
(1820), the Wilmot Proviso (1846), the Compromise of 1850, Henry Clay’s role in the
Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854),
the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision (1857), and the Lincoln-Douglas debates (1858).
US8.9.6.
Describe the lives of free blacks and the laws that limited their freedom and economic
opportunities.
US8.10
Students analyze the multiple causes, key events and complex consequences of the
Civil War.
US8.10.1.
Compare the conflicting interpretations of state and federal authority as emphasized in
the speeches and writings of statesmen such as Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun.
US8.10.2.
Trace the boundaries constituting the North and the South, the geographical differences
between the two regions, and the differences between agrarians and industrialists.
US8.10.3.
Identify the constitutional issues posed by the doctrine of nullification and secession
and the earliest origins of that doctrine.
US8.10.4.
Discuss Abraham Lincoln’s presidency and his significant writings and speeches and
their relationship to the Declaration of Independence, such as his “House Divided”
speech (1858), Gettysburg Address (1863), Emancipation Proclamation (1863), and
inaugural addresses (1861 and 1865).
US8.10.5.
Study the views and lives of leaders (e.g., Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, Robert E.
Lee) and soldiers on both sides of the war, including those of black soldiers and
regiments.
US8.10.6.
Describe critical developments and events in the war, including the major battles,
geographical advantages and obstacles, technological advances, and General Lee’s
surrender at Appomattox.
US8.10.7.
Explain how the war affected combatants, civilians, the physical environment, and future
warfare.
— 13 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
8
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
US8.11
Students analyze the character and lasting consequences of Reconstruction.
US8.11.1.
List the original aims of Reconstruction and describe its effects on the political and
social structures of different regions.
US8.11.2.
Identify the push-pull factors in the movement of former slaves to the cities in the North
and to the West and their differing experiences in those regions (e.g., the experiences of
Buffalo Soldiers).
US8.11.3.
Understand the effects of the Freedmen’s Bureau and the restrictions placed on the
rights and opportunities of freedmen, including racial segregation and “Jim Crow” laws.
US8.11.4.
Trace the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and describe the Klan’s effects.
US8.11.5.
Understand the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution
and analyze their connection to Reconstruction.
US8.12
Students analyze the transformation of the American economy and the changing
social and political conditions in the United States in response to the Industrial
Revolution.
US8.12.1.
Trace patterns of agricultural and industrial development as they relate to climate, use of
natural resources, markets, and trade and locate such development on a map.
US8.12.2.
Identify the reasons for the development of federal Indian policy and the wars with
American Indians and their relationship to agricultural development and
industrialization.
US8.12.3.
Explain how states and the federal government encouraged business expansion
through tariffs, banking, land grants, and subsidies.
US8.12.4.
Discuss entrepreneurs, industrialists, and bankers in politics, commerce, and industry
(e.g., Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Leland Stanford).
US8.12.5.
Examine the location and effects of urbanization, renewed immigration, and
industrialization (e.g., the effects on social fabric of cities, wealth and economic
opportunity, the conservation movement).
US8.12.6.
Discuss child labor, working conditions, and laissez-faire policies toward big business
and examine the labor movement, including its leaders (e.g., Samuel Gompers), its
demand for collective bargaining, and its strikes and protests over labor conditions.
US8.12.7.
Identify the new sources of large-scale immigration and the contributions of immigrants
to the building of cities and the economy; explain the ways in which new social and
economic patterns encouraged assimilation of newcomers into the mainstream amidst
growing cultural diversity; and discuss the new wave of nativism.
US8.12.8.
Identify the characteristics and impact of Grangerism and Populism.
US8.12.9.
Name the significant inventors and their inventions and identify how they improved the
quality of life (e.g., Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Orville and Wilbur Wright).
— 14 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
CALIFORNIA ANALYSIS SKILLS STANDARDS FOR GRADE 6 – 8
History and Social Science Analysis Skills (Grade 6 – 8)
Chronological and Spatial Thinking
CS1.
Students explain how major events are related to one another in time.
CS2.
Students construct various time lines of key events, people, and periods of the historical
era they are studying.
CS3.
Students use a variety of maps and documents to identify physical and cultural features
of neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries and to explain the historical migration of
people, expansion and disintegration of empires, and the growth of economic systems.
Research, Evidence, and Point of View
HR1.
Students frame questions that can be answered by historical study and research.
HR2.
Students distinguish fact from opinion in historical narratives and stories.
HR3.
Students distinguish relevant from irrelevant information, essential from incidental
information, and verifiable from unverifiable information in historical narratives and
stories.
HR4.
Students assess the credibility of primary and secondary sources and draw sound
conclusions about them.
HR5.
Students detect the different historical points of view on historical events and determine
the context in which the historical statements were made (the questions asked, sources
used, author’s perspectives).
Historical Interpretation
HI1.
Students explain the central issues and problems from the past, placing people and
events in a matrix of time and place.
HI2.
Students understand and distinguish cause, effect, sequence, and correlation in
historical events, including the long- and short-term causal relations.
HI3.
Students explain the sources of historical continuity and how the combination of ideas
and events explains the emergence of new patterns.
HI4.
Students recognize the role of chance, oversight, and error in history.
HI5.
Students recognize that interpretations of history are subject to change as new
information is uncovered.
HI6.
Students interpret basic indicators of economic performance and conduct cost-benefit
analyses of economic and political issues.
At least twenty-five percent of the content questions must include an element of the skills standards.
— 15 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
8
G R A D E 8
1
�
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
Why did Stone Age people practice slash-and­
burn agriculture?
A
to fulfill spiritual beliefs
B
to make irrigation easier
C
to drive away wild animals
D
to clear land for farming
5
�
It is visible from great distances. It is a
reminder to all who see it of the wealth
and power of the leader of the people who
built it and of his glory and greatness as a
god here on the Earth.
CSH10241
2
�
Which development most enabled early peoples
to form permanent settlements?
Greek tyrant and the Parthenon.
advances in agricultural production
B
Egyptian pharaoh and his pyramid.
B
the creation of democratic government
C
Assyrian king and his lighthouse.
C
the spread of monotheism
D
Hebrew king and the Temple.
D
advances in written language
CSD00040
Hammurabi’s Code of ancient Mesopotamian
society was important because it
6
�
A listed the laws and the corresponding
punishments.
B explained how government officials were
chosen.
C established a single currency for use across
the empire.
Cuneiform and hieroglyphics were important
achievements in the development of
A
written language.
B
religious beliefs.
C
agricultural production.
D
representative government.
CSV20825
7
�
D described how to perform formal religious
ceremonies.
CSD10055
4
�
A
A
CSH10239
3
�
The speaker in the passage above is referring
to the
The Ten Commandments of the ancient
Hebrews has had the greatest influence on the
development of Western
A
parliamentary democracies.
The art and architecture of ancient Egypt were
designed to emphasize the
B
moral and ethical teachings.
C
feudal social class systems.
A
value of the arts in daily life.
D
styles in art and literature.
B
role of the individual as an artist.
C
idea of beauty as seen by the artist.
D
religious idea of eternal life.
CSH10165
CSD00038
— 16 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T 8
�
11
�
Jewish scripture says that God’s laws were
delivered to the ancient Hebrews by
A
Abraham.
B
Solomon.
C
Moses.
D
David.
We regard an individual who takes no
interest in public affairs not as harmless,
but as useless.
—Pericles’ Funeral Oration
CSH10255
9
�
The quotation above illustrates the importance
ancient Athenians placed on individual
participation in the
The diaspora, the dispersing of the Jewish
people, refers to their
A
exile from their homeland.
B
collection of their sacred writings.
C
effort to convert nonbelievers.
D
opposition to the Crusades.
8
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
A
education of young children.
B
religious rituals of the community.
C
political process of the city-state.
D
economic activities of the household.
CSD10060
CSV23338
10
�
Greece’s mountainous terrain and its series of
small islands influenced the ancient Greeks to
develop
12 �
A a political system based on independent
city-states.
B a culture that was uniform throughout its vast
empire.
C an economic system based on mining
precious metals.
The legacy of ancient Greek myths and
epics, such as the Iliad, continues to provide
people with
A
accurate descriptions of historical events.
B
heroic figures and great adventures.
C
real life stories about everyday people.
D
objective studies of ancient civilizations.
D a society completely isolated from other
civilizations.
CSD00022
CSH10164
— 17 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E 8
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
16
�
13
�
atlas — a collection of maps
How did the rise to power and reign of
Alexander most affect Greece?
A He established a peaceful relationship with the
Persian Empire.
herculean — very powerful
B He strengthened greatly the concept of
democratic rule.
labyrinth — a maze
olympian — majestic, honored
C He made Macedonia into the intellectual
center of the Hellenistic world.
All of these words used in the English language
today originated in myths of the
D He ended the power of the city-states and
established a unified nation.
A Chinese.
CSV21006
17
�
B Romans.
C Greeks.
D Egyptians.
CSD00067
14
�
Asia
Ancient Greeks used myths about their gods
primarily to
B
A strike fear in their enemies.
A
B explain events in the natural world.
Arabian
Sea
C justify their type of government.
Pacific
Ocean
D
C
Bay
of
Bengal
Philippine
Sea
Indian Ocean
D undermine the Persian religion.
CSV20240
15
�
In 480 B.C., the independent Greek city-states
formed an alliance under the leadership of
Athens and Sparta during their conflict with the
Which letter on the map above is the location of
the Indus River Valley and the early civilization
it supported?
A
location A
A Persians.
B
location B
B Egyptians.
C
location C
C Romans.
D
location D
D Huns.
CSV22594
CSV20242
— 18 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T Which statement about the Hindu caste system
in India is accurate?
A
8
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
18
�
G R A D E
20
�
Different castes shared the same rules for
governing their behavior.
B
Foreigners were treated as members of the
lowest caste.
C
Castes were encouraged to interact with one
another.
D
People were required to stay in the same caste
to which they were born.
CSV20137
19
�
The Chinese people turned to the teachings of
Confucius because his ideas were thought to
help
A
unify the Chinese against foreign enemies.
B
restore order in China.
C
stop the Chinese people from converting to Islam.
D
create democratic institutions.
CSD00030
21
�
What was the main contribution of Emperor
Shi Huangdi to China?
A He unified most of China under one
government.
• Began in 500s B.C.
• Hoped to preserve order in society
B He established a public education system in
China.
• Attempted to establish a harmonious
society
C He required citizens to use the Mongol
language.
• Created a system of ethics for
society
D He encouraged acceptance of the Hindu
religion.
CSF10146
Which individual was responsible for the
Chinese social movement described in the text
box above?
A
Buddha
B
Asoka
C
Confucius
D
Shi Huangdi
22 �
What effect did Julius Caesar’s seizure of power
have on the Roman political system?
A It secured the rights of the commoners against
the nobles.
B It allowed for control of the state by the
Senate.
C It marked the transition from a republic to an
empire.
CSV23306
D It standardized the system by which emperors
were chosen.
CSV20326
— 19 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E 8
23
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CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
The origins of checks and balances in the
U.S. political system can be traced to the
A
French monarchy.
B
Roman Republic.
C
Greek aristocracy.
D
Aztec Empire.
Released Test Questions
26
�
A spreading new technology among Asia,
Africa, and Europe.
B converting large numbers of Western
Europeans to Islam.
C uniting most of Asia and Europe under a
single religion.
CSD00355
24 �
In the 700s A.D., Arabian merchants played an
important role in
D stopping the invasions of nomadic people
from Central Asia.
The wars with Carthage (264–146 B.C.) gave
the Roman Empire control of
CSV20988
A
North Africa.
B
Asia Minor.
C
Northern Europe.
D
the Middle East.
27
�
Which shows the importance the Mongols
placed on improving trade contacts with other
civilizations?
CSV21898
�
25
The Mediterranean World
A
the conquest of Constantinople
B
the establishment of caravan routes
C
the construction of large merchant fleets
D
the creation of a national currency
CSF10263
28 �
ARABIA
N
632-661 A.D.
W
661-733 A.D.
A The Chinese introduced it to the Arabs, who
passed it on to Europeans.
E
S
B The Swedes bought it from Russians, who
learned about it from Indians.
The map above represents the military
conquests associated with the spread of what
major world religion?
A
Christianity
B
Judaism
C
Islam
D
Hinduism
Which of these describes how paper was
introduced into medieval Europe?
C The Turks learned to make it and sold the
process to Europeans.
D The Arabs learned about paper making from
the Japanese and taught Europeans.
CSD00026
CSF10171
— 20 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T 8
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
29
�
31
�
Trans-Saharan Contacts
Beginning with childhood, all of man’s
study is centered on one aim alone: to
emerge successfully from the three days’
examinations, and all he has in mind is
what success can bring to him in terms of
power, influence, and prestige.
Tunis
Tripoli
Mediterranean Sea
Cairo
In Salah
Kharga
ea
dS
Re
Timbuktu
—Ye Shih, Chinese scholar
Gao
The examinations described in the quotation
above were necessary for a position as a Chinese
A
soldier.
B
priest.
C
silk merchant.
D
government official.
Benin
N
The contacts between civilizations shown in the
map above were primarily made by
CSV23289
30 �
Mao
A
explorers who were mapping Central Africa.
How did the location of cities in the West
African empires of Ghana and Mali influence
their growth?
B
traders who crossed the Sahara desert into
West Africa.
C
Christian missionaries from the Middle East.
A Their location in river valleys allowed for
extensive farming.
D
barbarians migrating from North Africa.
CSV21213
B Their coastal location made the cities major
ports for maritime trade.
C Their location on major trade routes allowed
them to prosper economically.
32 �
D Their mountainous location made the cities
easily defensible.
CSV20993
China’s influence on Medieval Japan is
illustrated by Japan’s development of
A
a writing system.
B
the samurai tradition.
C
haiku poetry.
D
a civil service exam.
CSV21797
— 21 —
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based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E 8
33
�
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Endurance, cunning, physical strength, and
courage were the ideal characteristics of
A
Confucian officials.
B
Buddhist priests.
C
Japanese samurai.
D
Hindu governors.
Released Test Questions
37
�
Use the timeline to complete the following
statement.
1679
1215 1295 1400 1500 1600 1688
Magna Carta
Habeas Corpus Act
CSD00070
�
Model Parliament
34 In medieval Europe, law and order were
maintained by the
A
legions.
B
merchants.
C
nobility.
D
serfs.
The timeline shows events related to the
A conflict between the Pope and the Holy
Roman Emperor.
B Catholic Church’s expansion of influence in
government.
CSD00083
35 �
C evolution towards constitutional government
in England.
During medieval times, which of these groups
was legally tied to the land?
A
serfs
B
knights
C
parish priests
D
minor nobility
D establishment of an absolute monarchy in
France.
CSF10173
38 �
B The Crusades led to a decline in the
production of crafts and food crops.
During the medieval period in Europe, the
political power of the kings and great nobles
was often constrained by the actions of
A
elected parliaments.
B
high Church officials.
C
the growing middle class.
D
organized groups of serfs.
How did the Crusades affect the economies of
Central and Western Europe?
A Gold and silver brought back by crusaders
caused monetary inflation.
CSD00060
36
�
Glorious
Revolution
C Cloth and spices brought back by crusaders
led to greater interest in trade.
D The Crusades limited access to luxury goods
from China and India.
CSV20373
CSD00007
— 22 —
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based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
39
�
40
�
Use the quotation to complete the following
statement.
Your brethren who live in the East are
in urgent need of your help . . . For, as
most of you have heard, the Turks and
the Arabs have attacked them . . . They
have killed and captured many, and have
destroyed the churches and devastated
the Empire . . .
8
Europe in the
Fourteenth Century
Dec. 1350
June 1350
Dec. 1349
June 1349
—Pope Urban II in 1095
• London
Paris
Par
i •
Dec. 1348
The Pope is issuing a call for
June 1348
Dec. 1347
Dec. 1347
A help in fighting Martin Luther and the
Protestants.
• Rome
B Crusaders to regain the Holy Land from
Muslims.
C the Emperor to restore the glory of the
Frankish Empire.
The map above illustrates the spread of what
disease?
D armies to fight against the Mongol invaders.
A
yellow fever
B
cholera
C
bubonic plague
D
malaria
CSD10016
CSV20168
— 23 —
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based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
8
41
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
Use the map to answer the following question.
42
Ancient Civilizations
N
W
J
K
E
S
Which characteristic did Aztec and Incan
societies share?
A
laws that made slavery illegal
B
families dominated by women
C
government by direct democracy
D
complex religious ceremonies
CSH10266
43
L
M
• Prepared calendar that regulated
agricultural activities
• Gathered folk tales and recorded
historical events
• Served as members of the ruling
class
Which members of Aztec society were
responsible for the tasks outlined above?
Which of the areas on the map was the center
of Inca civilization?
A
J
B
K
C
L
D
M
A
merchants
B
soldiers
C
farmers
D
priests
CSV23280
CSD00018
— 24 —
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based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T 44
�
Decline of Estimated Native Population
of Central Mexico
Population in Millions
8
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
46 �
The stories from Marco Polo’s travels
encouraged Europeans to
A
journey to Asia in search of wealth.
28
B
abandon the feudal land system.
24
C
launch the Crusades against Muslims.
20
D
isolate themselves from foreigners.
16
CSF10251
47 �
12
8
4
1500
1540
1580
1620
Year
What was the main cause of the population
change shown on the chart above?
A the migration of several culture groups to
North America
Which of these is not a characteristic of
Renaissance painting?
A
subject matter limited to Christian themes
B
realistic portrait painting
C
settings reflecting the world of the artists
D
paintings showing depth and perspective
CSD00017
48
�
➤ Artist, architect, mathematician
B losses due to Spanish military actions
against native peoples
➤ Studied anatomy to draw more
realistic human figures
C starvation resulting from declining
agricultural production
➤ Painted a mural depicting the last
meeting of Jesus and his disciples
D the introduction of disease by contact with
Europeans
➤ Painted the portrait known as
“Mona Lisa”
CSV21793
45 �
G R A D E
The Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations each
developed
A
powerful seafaring traditions.
The information in the chart above best
describes which of these individuals of the
Renaissance?
B
monotheistic religious systems.
A
Raphael
C
democratic governments.
B
Michelangelo
D
complex architectural structures.
C
da Vinci
D
Botticelli
CSH10421
CSD00032
— 25 —
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G R A D E 8
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
52
�
The poems and plays of which person are
representative of the English Renaissance?
A
Johann Gutenberg
B
William Shakespeare
C
Dante Alighieri
D
Miguel de Cervantes
Movement of Jews from Spain
London
Paris
1497
49
�
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
FRANCE
CSV21352
England became a Protestant country during
the Reformation when its
SPAIN
Marseille
A king declared himself head of the Church of
England.
PORTUGAL
B people demanded the adoption of Lutheran
beliefs.
14
97
50
�
92 Toledo
14
Algiers
1497
Fez
C priests opposed reforms implemented by the
Pope.
D armies were exposed to Calvinist beliefs while
in France.
What was the cause for the movement of the
Jewish population shown above?
CSF10253
51 �
What was the Spanish Inquisition (1478–1834)?
A the invasion of Europe and Africa by the
Moors
A a system designed to establish new colonies
in the Americas
B the spread of the Black Death through Europe
C the establishment of new colonies by the Jews
to the west
B the exchange of goods between Spain and
Central and South America
D the forced removal of the Jews by church and
government authorities
C the religious court established to find and
punish heretics
CSV21907
D a military campaign to drive the Muslim
armies out of Spain
53 �
CSV20684
The findings of Galileo and Newton were
significant because, from their time on,
scientific thought was based upon
A
traditional ways of thinking.
B
the ideas of the classic philosophers.
C
the authority of the Church.
D
observation and experimentation.
CSD00079
— 26 —
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based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T 54
�
58
�
The systematic collection and articulation of
natural laws, such as gravity and motion, was
done by
A
Galileo.
B
Isaac Newton.
C
Kepler.
D
van Leeuwenhoek.
The Scientific Revolution contributed to
Enlightenment thought by influencing people to
A
believe in the power of human reason.
B
reject belief in the organized church.
C
study the ideas of past civilizations.
D
oppose individuality in favor of social order.
CSV20987
CSD00092
�
55 Which Scientific Revolution-era invention led to
59
�
an increased understanding of diseases?
A
the telescope
B
the thermometer
C
the barometer
D
the microscope
8
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
Ideas of John Locke
• R
ulers receive the right to govern
from the people.
• Unjust rulers can be forced from
power.
CSV23082
�
56 What was one effect of Copernicus’ theory of a
sun-centered solar system?
Based on the quotation above, which form of
government would John Locke most oppose?
A
republic
A
It required a revision of the Christian calendar.
B
dictatorship
B
It disputed Church teachings regarding the
universe.
C
representative democracy
C
It allowed sailors to predict tides more
accurately.
D
constitutional monarchy
D
CSV22710
It resulted in a decline in pagan religions.
CSV20391
57
�
The “Triangle Trade” and “Columbian
Exchange” are terms used to describe the
movement of goods between Western Europe,
West Africa, and
A
Central Asia.
B
the Americas.
C
Australia.
D
the Middle East.
CSV22221
— 27 —
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based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E 8
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
60
�
63
�
• natural rights
A establish a new monarchy for the independent
states.
• separation of powers
B convince the British Parliament to prevent the
start of war.
• political equity
C explain why the colonists felt the need to be
free from British rule.
The teachings of Enlightenment thinking listed
above provided the basis for the
A
establishment of democratic government.
B
teaching of the Protestant Reformation.
C
calling of the crusades.
D
development of feudalism.
D outline an economic system to raise money for
the revolution.
CSV21498
64
�
CSV20980
61 �
What were both the Magna Carta and the
English Bill of Rights designed to do?
In designing the legislative branch, the writers
of the Constitution mainly based their ideas
on the
A
French Estates General.
B
Congress of Vienna.
A
limit the power of the monarch
C
Council of Trent.
B
provide for religious freedom
D
English Parliament.
C
accept the theory of divine right
D
give commoners the right to vote
CSH10139
65 �
CSH10419
62 �
One goal of the Declaration of Independence
was to
The Great Awakening of the mid-1700s affected
the British colonies by
A decreasing the power and prestige of radical
religious figures.
B encouraging greater religious enthusiasm and
political independence.
The Mayflower Compact (1620) was significant
in the political development of the American
colonies because it introduced the principle of
A
self-government.
B
separation of powers.
C
freedom of expression.
D
federalism.
C encouraging strict obedience and respect for
governmental authorities.
D discouraging individual free will in spiritual
and political matters.
CSH00548
— 28 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
CSV21594
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T 8
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
66
�
G R A D E
68 �
Use the excerpt to answer the following
question.
The powers not delegated to the United
States by the Constitution, nor prohibited
by it to the states, are reserved to the
states respectively, or to the people.
—Tenth Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution
Which of these parts of the United States
Constitution contains fundamental liberties of
American citizens?
A
Preamble
B
Article I, Section 8 — Enumerated Powers
C
Article III — Judicial Branch
D
Amendments 1–10 — Bill of Rights
CSH00099
The Tenth Amendment was added to the
Constitution to resolve which of the following
topics of debate surrounding the development
of the Constitution?
69 �
A division of powers among branches of
government
B the annexation of new lands into the
country
Which of these is a constitutional “check” that
the executive has to “balance” the power of the
legislature in the United States government?
A
dismiss Congress when it acts illegally
B
veto acts passed by Congress
C
overturn decisions made by courts
D
appoint representatives and senators
CSH00041
70
�
C balance between national and state
government power
D the representation of states in the legislative
houses
Which of these groups most likely supported
the political ideas and policies of Alexander
Hamilton?
A
small farmers
B
tobacco planters
C
business owners
D
frontier settlers
CSF10118
�
67 Which of these Founders favored a strong
national government and a loose interpretation
of the United States Constitution?
A
George Mason
B
Patrick Henry
C
Roger Williams
D
Alexander Hamilton
CSH00033
CSH00137
— 29 —
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based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
8
71
�
72
�
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
74
�
Thomas Jefferson and his followers opposed
Alexander Hamilton’s tariff policy in part
because they believed that high tariffs would
cause problems for
A
rich bankers.
B
small farmers.
C
big city merchants.
D
owners of small factories.
British Territory
Oregon
Country
CSH00114
The United
States
Shays’ Rebellion of 1786 resulted in increased
support for
Spanish
Territory
Florida
(Spanish)
A
creating a U.S. Bill of Rights.
B
revising the Articles of Confederation.
C
writing the Declaration of Independence.
D
approving the Missouri Compromise.
GULF OF
MEXICO
Which president was responsible for the
territorial acquisition indicated by the darker
shaded area on the map above?
CSV22037
73
�
Louisiana Purchase
Which of the following acquisitions secured
control of North America’s longest river, added
substantially to the Native American, Spanish,
and French populations of the country, and
essentially doubled the size of the United States?
A
purchase of Alaska
B
Gadsden Purchase
C
Louisiana Purchase
D
purchase of Florida
A
George Washington
B
John Adams
C
Thomas Jefferson
D
James Madison
CSV22774
75
�
CSH10019
In his Farewell Address, George Washington
urged the American people to
A
limit a president to two terms in office.
B
value and maintain a sense of national unity.
C
create a defensive alliance with European countries.
D
establish more effective political parties.
CSH10264
— 30 —
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based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
76
�
78
�
Millions of Dollars
United States Exports
What was the purpose of the Monroe Doctrine
(1823)?
120
A
to open Canada to American settlers
100
B
to prevent European expansion in the
Americas
C
to acquire Florida for the United States
D
to end the United States’ alliance with Great
Britain
80
60
40
20
0
CSV22775
1790 1795 1800 1805 1810 1815
79
�
Year
What is one reason for the dramatic decreases
in exports in 1807 and from 1810 to 1812?
Which statement best describes the location
of factories in New England during the early
1800s?
A
They needed to be close to coal deposits.
A
a decline in industrial output
B
They were located next to rivers.
B
competition from French merchants
C
They were located in isolated areas.
C
military and economic conflicts with Great
Britain
D
They needed to be close to railroads.
D
an increase in production and transportation
costs
CSF10300
77
�
8
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
CSV20338
80
�
Timeline of
Technological Development
in the 1800s
Conflict with Mexico became highly likely
following the granting of statehood to
A
Texas.
B
Missouri.
C
Arizona.
D
Louisiana.
Samuel Slater
introduces
water-powered
spinning machine.
First factory
in U.S. built in
Waltham,
Massachusetts.
First industrial
center built at
Lowell,
Massachusetts.
1790
1813
1822
CSH00063
The timeline above represents development in
the production of
A
oil.
B
glassware.
C
steel.
D
textiles.
CSV22944
— 31 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
8
81
�
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
During the 1800s, the movement of large
numbers of immigrants from many different
countries into large American cities resulted in
the rapid growth of
A
effective public health programs.
B
ethnic neighborhoods.
C
public parks and recreation areas.
D
plentiful and affordable public housing.
plantation owners
B
cattle ranchers
C
urban merchants
D
religious officials
What agricultural invention, designed to
increase production, had the effect of
increasing the number of slaves needed for
labor in the Deep South?
A
the wheat reaper
B
the cotton gin
C
the steel plow
D
the rice mill
Go west, young man, and grow up with
the country.
—Horace Greeley
Hints Toward Reform
Greeley’s quotation is associated with which
of these?
The growing importance of cotton to the South
created an economy and a society dominated by
A
managers and professional people.
B
small independent farmers.
C
large landowners.
D
industrial leaders.
87
�
The slave-based agricultural system in the
South encouraged the development of
A
economic self-reliance.
B
a rigid social class system.
C
an urban middle class.
D
small independent businesses.
A
Farmers Alliance
B
Populist Party
C
Manifest Destiny
D
Temperance movement
CSH00075
CSH00031
84
�
A
86
�
CSH10143
83
�
Prior to the Civil War, which group had the
most political power in the South?
CSV22059
CSH00067
82
�
85
�
By the mid-1800s, California was being settled
mostly by people in search of
A
jobs in industrial cities.
B
wealth from the discovery of gold.
C
animal pelts for the fur trade.
D
trade with American Indians.
CSH00542
CSH10211
— 32 —
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based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
90
�
88
�
Texas has been absorbed into the Union
in the inevitable fulfillment of the general
law which is rolling our population
westward.
—Democratic Review, 1845
The quotation above describes the
nineteenth-century American belief in
G R A D E
8
While the American colonies were fighting a
revolution against England and forming a new
nation, New Spain was establishing new
settlements in California using what type of
system?
A
plantation
B
factory
C
mission
D
capitalist
CSH10017
91
�
A the Social Contract.
B Manifest Destiny.
C isolationism.
D the Monroe Doctrine.
CSH00552
89 �
The Indian Removal Act (1830) relocated
thousands of Cherokees from Georgia to Indian
Territory for the purpose of
A making the land available for white miners
and farmers.
Who was the most important leader of the
Underground Railroad?
A
Harriet Tubman
B
William Lloyd Garrison
C
Phillis Wheatley
D
Sarah Grimké
CSH00146
92
�
B allowing the Cherokee their freedom from
U.S. control.
The main goal of abolitionists like William
Lloyd Garrison was to
A
allow all women the right to vote.
B
establish tax-supported schools.
C obeying the Supreme Court’s order to move
the Cherokee.
C
stop individuals from drinking alcoholic beverages.
D creating a wilderness area for use by white
fur trappers.
D
end slavery immediately.
CSH00086
CSH10014
— 33 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
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G R A D E
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
8
93
�
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
After the American Revolution, most Northern
state constitutions called for
A
universal suffrage for citizens.
B
the gradual elimination of slavery.
C
the adoption of a state religion.
D
abolition of state property taxes.
95
�
CSV21507
94
�
What led the newspapers to speak of “Bleeding
Kansas” in 1856?
A
fighting between pro-slavery and anti-slavery
forces
B
attacks on job-seeking Irish immigrants
C
conflict between cattle ranchers and farmers
D
reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling
against Dred Scott
CSH00557
96
�
United States in 1850
3
2
4
States’ rights played a major role in all of the
following except the
A
Kentucky and Virginia Resolves.
B
Missouri Compromise.
C
Nullification Crisis.
D
Monroe Doctrine.
CSH10338
97
�
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
1
GULF OF
MEXICO
PACIFIC
OCEAN
Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is
similar to the Declaration of Independence in
that both documents
A
include descriptions of laws which should be
passed.
B
emphasize the need for effective government.
Which area on the map above was admitted as
a state as a result of the Compromise of 1850?
C
support the ideals of self-government and
human rights.
A
1
D
justify the need for economic change.
B
2
C
3
D
4
CSH00140
98
�
CSV22836
What was the first major goal of President
Abraham Lincoln’s administration?
A
to destroy the institution of slavery
B
to maintain the unity of the country
C
to expand the power of state governments
D
to industrialize the economy
CSH10225
— 34 —
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CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T 101
�
Use the excerpt to complete the following
statement.
With malice toward none; with charity for
all; with firmness in the right, as God gives
us to see the right, let us strive on to finish
the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s
wounds; to care for him who shall have
borne the battle, and for his widow and
orphan, to do all which may achieve and
cherish a just and lasting peace among
ourselves, and with all nations.
One goal of post–Civil War Congressional
Reconstruction was to
A
repay Confederate war debts.
B
ensure civil rights for former slaves.
C
preserve the plantation system.
D
rebuild the Southern naval system.
CSF10159
102
�
This ending to Lincoln’s Second Inaugural
Speech indicates that his vision for the future
after the Civil War was for
During Reconstruction, the Freedmen’s Bureau
A
relocated many former slaves to the North.
B
created a system for tenant farming.
C
gave forty acres and a mule to former slaves.
D
established schools for former slaves.
CSF10161
A
peacemaking and rebuilding the Union.
B
resolving differences through armed action.
C
providing pensions to Confederate veterans.
D
punishing the South for its actions during the war.
103
�
CSH10021
100
�
8
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
99
�
G R A D E
What is one reason that the Union strategy for
defeating the South included a naval blockade
of Southern ports?
A to cut the South off from its supply lines in
the countries of Latin America
One of the functions of the Freedmen’s Bureau
was to
A
discourage segregation in the South.
B
relocate former slaves to urban areas.
C
provide assistance to former slaves.
D
reward veterans with land and money.
CSV20800
104
�
B to stop Southern attempts to establish slave
plantations in Cuba and Mexico
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the
Constitution of the United States were intended
to solve problems relating to
A
government organization.
C to prevent Southern efforts to sell cotton in
Europe in exchange for war supplies
B
civil rights.
C
checks and balances.
D to deprive the South of fishing and whaling as
a primary source of food
D
rapid economic change.
CSH00112
CSF10245
— 35 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
8
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
106
�
105
�
Chicago Population
1,200
MASS-MEETING
1,000
TO-NIGHT,
Population
(in thousands)
Attention Workingmen!
at 7:30 o’clock,
AT THE
HAYMARKET, Randolph St. Bet Desplaines and Halsted.
800
600
400
200
Good Speakers will be present to denounce the latest atrocious act
of the police shooting of our fellow workmen yesterday afternoon.
0
Workingmen Arm Yourselves and Appear in Full Force!
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890
Years
Which of these is the best explanation for the
trend shown in the bar graph above?
The above poster suggests that 19th-century
industrialization was often accompanied by
A
availability of industrial jobs in Chicago
A
labor strife.
B
Chicago’s location on an important river
B
farm protests.
C
Chicago’s nearness to the gold fields
C
technological progress.
D
lack of regulation in the banks of Chicago
D
political stability.
CSH00109
CSH00004
— 36 —
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based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
107
�
What did the American Federation of Labor try
to achieve in the late 1800s?
109
�
8
Which of these groups most favored
immigration to the United States between
1880 and 1910?
A
control of decision making in the market
B
higher wages and better working conditions
A
unskilled workers
C
employee ownership of factories and mines
B
rural farmers
D
elimination of racial discrimination in the
workplace
C
urban nativists
D
factory owners
CSV20858
108
�
G R A D E
CSH10181
A large percentage of the immigrants who came
to the United States during the late 19th and
early 20th centuries settled in large cities
because
A most of them had lived in cities in their
homelands.
B there were fewer and fewer farms in the
United States.
C the growing industries were usually located
in cities.
D the government encouraged immigrants to
settle in big cities.
CSH00130
— 37 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
8
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
Question Number
Correct Answer
Standard
Skills
Year of Release
1
D
WH6.1.3
2
A
WH6.1.3
3
A
WH6.2.4
2005
4
D
WH6.2.5
2003
5
B
WH6.2.5
6
A
WH6.2.9
7
B
6WH6.3.2
8
C
WH6.3.3
2006
9
A
6WH6.3.5
2008
10
A
WH6.4.1
11
C
6WH6.4.3
2007
12
B
WH6.4.4
2003
13
C
WH6.4.4
14
B
6WH6.4.4
2007
15
A
6WH6.4.6
2008
16
D
WH6.4.7
HI 2
2006
17
C
WH6.5.1
CS 3
2004
18
D
6WH6.5.4
2008
19
C
6WH6.6.3
2008
20
B
WH6.6.4
2005
21
A
WH6.6.5
2006
22
C
6WH6.7.4
2008
23
B
WH6.7.8
2005
24
A
WH7.1.2
2004
25
C
WH7.2.4
26
A
7WH7.2.5
2007
27
B
WH7.3.4
2004
28
A
WH7.3.5
HI 2
2003
29
D
7WH7.3.6
HR 4
2008
30
C
WH7.4.2
31
B
WH7.4.3
32
A
7WH7.5.1
2008
33
C
WH7.5.3
2006
34
C
WH7.6.3
2003
35
A
WH7.6.3
2003
2005
HI 2
HR 2
2006
2003
2006
HI 3
HI 1
HI 3
CS 3
2007
2004
2004
2006
2005
HI 2
2006
— 38 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
Question Number
Correct Answer
Standard
Skills
Year of Release
36
B
WH7.6.4
HI 1
2003
37
C
WH.7.6.5
2005
38
C
WH7.6.6
2004
39
B
7WH7.6.6
40
C
7WH7.6.7
41
D
WH7.7.1
42
D
7WH7.7.2
2007
43
D
7WH7.7.2
2008
44
D
WH7.7.3
2005
45
D
WH7.7.4
2004
46
A
WH7.8.3
2006
47
A
WH7.8.5
2003
48
C
WH7.8.5
2004
49
B
WH7.8.5
2006
50
A
WH7.9.4
2006
51
C
WH7.9.7
2004
52
D
7WH7.9.7
CS 3
2008
53
D
WH7.10.2
CS 2
2003
54
B
WH7.10.2
2005
55
D
7WH7.10.2
2008
56
B
7WH7.10.2
2008
57
B
WH7.11.2
2006
58
A
7WH7.11.4
HI 3
2007
59
B
WH7.11.5
HR 4
2006
60
A
7WH7.11.5
2007
61
A
WH7.11.6
2004
62
B
US8.1.1
63
C
US8.1.2
2006
64
D
US8.1.4
2005
65
A
8USH8.2.1
66
C
US8.2.3
2005
67
D
US8.2.4
2004
68
D
US8.2.6
2003
69
B
8USH8.2.7
2008
70
C
US8.3.4
2005
HR 4
2008
2007
CS 3
HI 2
HI 3
2003
2003
2007
— 39 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
8
G R A D E
8
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
Question Number
Correct Answer
Standard
Skills
Year of Release
71
B
8USH8.3.4
CS 1
2007
72
B
8USH8.3.5
2007
73
C
US8.4.1
2006
74
C
8USH8.4.1
2008
75
B
US8.4.2
2004
76
C
8USH8.5.1
HI 2
2008
77
A
US8.5.2
CS 1
2003
78
B
US8.5.2
2006
79
B
US8.6.1
2006
80
D
8USH8.6.1
81
B
US8.6.3
82
B
US8.7.1
HI 2
2004
83
C
8USH8.7.1
HI 3
2007
84
B
US8.7.2
2005
85
A
US8.7.3
2006
86
C
US8.8.2
2003
87
B
US8.8.2
HI 1
2003
88
B
US8.8.2
HR 4
2004
89
A
US8.8.2
2005
90
C
US8.8.5
2005
91
A
US8.9.1
2003
92
D
US8.9.1
2005
93
B
8USH8.9.2
2008
94
D
US8.9.4
95
A
US8.9.5
2004
96
D
US8.9.5
2004
97
C
US8.10.4
2003
98
B
US8.10.4
2006
99
A
8USH8.10.4
2007
100
C
US8.10.6
2005
101
B
US8.11.1
2004
102
D
US8.11.3
2004
103
C
8USH8.11.3
2007
104
B
US8.11.5
105
A
US8.12.5
CS 2
2008
2005
CS 3
2004
2005
HI 1
2003
— 40 —
This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected
based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
G R A D E
CA L I F O R N I A S TA N DA R D S T E S T
History–Social Science
Released Test Questions
Question Number
Correct Answer
Standard
Skills
106
A
8USH8.12.5
2007
107
B
8USH8.12.6
2008
108
C
US8.12.7
109
D
8USH8.12.7
HI 1
Year of Release
2003
2008
— 41 —
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based on performance on released test questions. Copyright © 2009 California Department of Education.
8
California Standards History Test Review
Ancient History Review
Early Man
• Early humans were hunter-gatherers. They relied on animals and plants for food.
• They moved constantly in search of their food.
• Early farmers used slash and burn techniques.
• The coming of the Ice Ages caused people to adapt, including developing new clothing.
• After the Ice Ages, people began to domesticate plants and animals and build mud-brick houses, eventually leading to
permanent settlements.
• They also began to specialize in different activities, including weaving cloth for clothes.
Ancient Mesopotamia
• The yearly flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers created rich soil allowing for good agriculture and early
civilizations. However, the flood was unpredictable.
• New agricultural technique arose, such as irrigation through building dams, channels, walls, and ditches. These led to
the rise of cities, religion, writing, science and math.
• Mesopotamia built temples and held religious festivals to please the gods.
• Hammurabi’s Code organized all laws, but was very harsh. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
• Mesopotamian's wrote using cuneiform. Cuneiform was first used to keep track of trade.
Ancient Egypt
• In ancient Egypt, the Nile River flooded every year providing fertile farmland in the desert.
• The Egyptians developed irrigation and other techniques to control Nile floodwaters.
• Egyptians embalmed their pharaohs and built great pyramids as tombs so that the pharaohs would make it to the after
life.
• Egyptians used papyrus and hieroglyphics to record history.
• The pharaoh was considered both king and god.
• Massive pyramids were built as tombs for pharaohs.
The Ancient Hebrews
• Judaism was the first monotheistic religion. [belief in one god]
• According to tradition, Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.
• The Ten Commandments became the basis for civil and religious laws of Judaism.
• The Torah is the holy book of Judaism. The Torah is the first five books of the Bible.
• Judaism focused on the belief in one God, the observance of law, practice of the concepts of righteousness and
justice, and importance of study of the Torah and Talmud
Ancient India
• India’s first major religion was Hinduism, which involved a universal spirit called Brahman. The worship of this
spirit is sometimes called Brahmanism.
• The caste system organized Indians into four classes - the Brahmins (teachers, scholars and priests), the Kshatriyas
(kings and warriors), the Vaishyas (traders), and Sudras (agriculturists, service providers, and some artisan groups).
• The Buddha’s life and teachings, such as honesty, non-violence, and compassion, created a new religion called
Buddhism, which spread throughout India to Central Asia.
• The Buddha's Four Noble Truths:
1. Life is suffering
2. People suffer because of desire
3. The only way not to suffer is to have no desires
4. The Eightfold Path is the way to end suffering and end the cycle of reincarnation
• India developed great literature in Sanskrit, such as the Bhagavad Gita, and developed algebra, and the zero.
Ancient China
• Confucius taught the importance of duty and respect for family.
• Confucius lived in a time when the government was struggling to run society and when many people were not
following the ancient traditions. Confucius wanted to improve society through teaching people to do their duty and
honor their parents.
• Respect for elders, proper conduct, and the proper behavior of rulers are key elements of Confucianism.
• Taoists follow the teachings of Laozi, and believe people should give up worldly desires and follow the force that
guides all things—the Tao.
• Taoism stressed that everything in life should be in harmony with nature.
• Emperor Shihuangdi united much of China under one dynasty.
• Shi Huangdi created one currency, built roads and a huge canal, and the Great Wall.
• Under the Han dynasty, the civil service exam created a government run by scholars.
• The Han rulers continued to expand the empire and ruled in a period of much peace.
• The Han dynasty also developed the Silk Road and began a trading network that reached much of Asia and the West,
including Rome.
• The Silk Road brought new goods and ideas to China.
• Buddhism reached China during the A.D. 100's by monks traveling along the Silk Road.
• Buddhism began as an important religion in China after the Han dynasty collapsed.
Ancient Greece
• The mountains and seas surrounding Greece led to the rise of city-states.
• Each Greek city-state was run by its citizens, or members of the political community.
• The growth of Greece depended on establishing colonies and trade throughout the Mediterranean region.
• A direct democracy involves all citizens in voting and making laws. Most modern democracies are representative;
people are elected to represent a group of citizens.
• Sparta developed a militaristic government.
• Athens created a democracy and focused on trade and culture.
• Athens and Sparta joined forces to defeat the Persians in the Persian Wars, but later fought the destructive
Peloponnesian War.
•Alexander conquered the Persian Empire and spread Hellenism throughout southwest Asia.
• The Greeks spread their art, architecture, literature, theater, philosophy, and mathematics.
• Some of the great Greek writers include the dramatists Sophocles, Euripides, and Aeschylus.
• Greek ideas of art and architecture influence styles today.
• Greek philosophers tried to answer life’s big questions.
Ancient Rome
• The Roman Republic had two classes of citizens, the patricians (nobles), and the plebeians (common people).
• The Republic had three branches of government: The consuls, who were the chief executives, the senate, who made
the laws, and praetors, who were judges.
• Julius Caesar, a Roman general, was named dictator for life. He had many reform ideas, but was assassinated by
senators were afraid of his gaining too much power.
• Augustus was Caesar's grand nephew. He became Rome's first emperor. Under his rule, Rome expanded and enjoyed
a period of peace.
• Jesus of Nazareth preached love, compassion, and forgiveness. He often taught using stories called parables.
• Early church leaders taught that people could gain salvation through Jesus, who was the messiah.
• Jesus made many enemies in Rome, and was put to death.
• Accounts of his resurrection, or rising from the dead form the basis of Christian belief that Jesus was the son of God.
• St. Paul the Apostle led the early church and its teaching that Jesus was the son of God and the Holy Trinity, the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
World History Review
The Decline of the Roman Empire
• Rome supported the provinces by building roads and aqueducts and providing protection in case of attack.
• The final collapse of the Western Empire occurred in C.E. 476.
• Roman emperors increased the size of the Roman Empire by conquering new territory.
• Rome’s contributions to architecture include the arch, the dome, and the column.
• Slave labor was used by the Roman Empire and helped lead to its downfall.
• Christianity spread throughout the Empire eventually becoming a major world religion.
• Internal problems that helped Rome’s downfall were corrupt generals, civil wars, and economic problems.
• Rome declined because the army became too expensive, the barbarians invaded the Empire, Roman armies fought
among themselves, and Rome became too large to govern.
Islam
• The Five Pillars of Islam are the Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca), fasting during Ramadan, prayer, faith (there is one God
and Muhammad is His Prophet), and Zagat (sharing of wealth). These Five Pillars describe the duties of Muslims.
• Muslims believe the written record of Allah’s words were revealed to Muhammad in the Qur’an.
• The collection of the words and deeds of Muhammad written down after several generations is called the Sunna.
• Islam considers Jews and Christians to be “people of the book.”
• Muslim achievements included astronomy, geometry, medicine, and mathematics.
• Islam was spread by merchants and by the acquisition of new territories through military conquest and alliances.
Africa
• Ghana was at the center of a major trade route.
• The Muslim traders brought a system of numbers, the Islamic religion, and a system of writing to West African
societies.
• The Niger River was important to transport gold. The gold was then traded for salt, which came from the desert.
• Ghana controlled the trade of salt from the Sahara and crops, livestock, gold, and enslaved Africans from central and
southern West Africa.
• Ghana’s location between salt-producing North Africa and the gold-rich southern coast of West Africa, allowed it to
control the gold-salt trade.
• Ghana and Mali were influenced by the laws and ethics of Islam.
Mesoamerica and Andean Civilizations
• The Maya were from Central America. The Aztec were from Mexico. The Inca were from South America.
• Mayan civilization was based on agriculture. They dug moats and canals to bring water to arid places.
• The Mayan thought the priests could interpret the will of the gods by studying the Mayan calendars. With the help of
math, the priests could also help determine what were good times to plant crops, and figure out the mood of the gods.
• Two of the Mayan achievements included a system of writing called hieroglyphics and a calendar.
• Aztec farming methods made use of floating gardens called chinampas.
• The Aztec settled in a swampy island in Lake Texcoco because they believed they were told by their gods to build a
city at the place where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus holding a snake in its beak.
• The Aztecs were often fought with neighboring tribes.
• The Inca king was called the Sapa Inca. The people believed he was descended from the gods.
• The Inca differed from the Maya and Aztec in that they had no written language.
• The Inca used a technique called terrace farming to raise crops on mountain slopes.
• The Aztec practiced sacrifices because they believed that if one was sacrificed, he would become divine. They also
wanted to frighten their enemies. They captured prisoners from other tribes and sacrificed them as well.
• The Aztec and Inca empires had weakened by the time the Spanish arrived in the New World. Both had been
involved in civil wars causing them to lose strength. Disease also killed many of their soldiers, but both civilizations
both came to an end at the hands of the Spanish.
• The Aztec and Maya had slaves. The Inca did not.
• The Aztec, Maya, and Inca were all polytheistic, believing in many gods.
• The Inca had a system called quipu for keeping track of records.
China
• In the Tang dynasty, aristocrats held most of the jobs in the government. They got the jobs by passing civil service
exams.
• A meritocracy is the name for a system in which people are chosen for employment and are able to move up within
an organization.
• During the 700’s improvements in roads, canals, and waterways improved transportation and enabled messengers and
other government officials to travel more easily throughout China. These roads, canals, and waterways helped unify
China.
• The Chinese invented printing, the compass, gun powder, and paper currency.
• Moveable type was invented by the Chinese and increased the availability of books.
• Tea was discovered in China, and used as a beverage and as medicine.
• Buddhism was brought to China from missionaries from India.
• Buddhism spread after the collapse of the Han Dynasty. It helped people cope with the hardships of life.
• Buddhism teaches that all life is suffering. People suffer because they are attached to material possessions. However,
people could escape suffering by living a good life. This helped people deal with the hardships of life.
Japan
• In the Japanese feudal system, the emperor was at the top, followed by the shoguns (generals), daimyo (wealthy land
owners), samurai (warriors), and then the peasants.
• A military life known as Samurai, the way of the warrior, was characterized by early weapon training and
commitment to a strict lifestyle.
• The Code of the Samurai was called the bushido. It stressed loyalty and honor. A samurai would rather die than
shame himself in battle.
• The daimyo was the ruler of the Samurai. The samurai would swear and oath of loyalty to his daimyo. The samurai
would protect the land and peasants of his daimyo.
• Shinto, Japan’s main religion, holds that everything in the natural world is filled with spirits.
Medieval Europe
• The feudal system in Europe had kings and queens at the top, followed by rich, land owning lords, warrior knights,
and then finally peasants and serfs, who were tied to the land.
• Under feudalism in Europe, people received protection from large landowners in return for military service, working
on the lord’s land, and performing necessary tasks such as repairing bridges, working in the mill, or gathering wood.
• Vassals were landowners who had given title of their estate to the feudal lord. Vassals also served the king.
• The qualities important in feudalism were courtesy, loyalty, bravery and obedience. These became known as chivalry
and became the code of the Knights.
• The Magna Carta was one of the most important documents that came out of the Medieval period because it made
official the idea that ordinary people had rights, set up the basis for the idea of “due process of law,” and stated that the
king was subject to the law of the land.
• The stated purpose of the Crusades was to insure the safe travel of Christians who wanted to visit the Holy Land. In
reality, the Crusades were fought to win back the Holy Land from the Muslims.
• As a result of the Crusades, ideas and products were introduced to Europe.
• As a result of the Crusades, the Jewish populations in both Europe and the Middle East were attacked by Christians.
Christians also burned and looted Constantinople.
Renaissance
• Major ideas of the Renaissance included realism, humanism, and individualism.
• People who were concerned with the Greek and Roman classics and saw the importance of public service were called
humanists.
• The Renaissance was an important period to because humanists believed in the importance of the individual.
Humanists believed that if people could understand the world, they could improve it.
• Renaissance artists depicted people as they really appeared. This is called perspective. Paintings began to look
trephination.
• Leonardo da Vinci was famous for his painting, science discoveries, and accomplishments in many other areas.
Among his creative ideas were the drawings for a horseless carriage and a parachute. Leonardo's most famous
paintings are the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper.
• Patrons of the arts were extremely important during the Renaissance because they provided money for artists and
writers to complete their work.
• Michelangelo, a foremost artist during the Renaissance studied the human anatomy so he could draw and sculpt the
human figure realistically. He is most well known for painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
• William Shakespeare, one of the world’s greatest playwrights. He wrote many famous plays. Romeo and Juliet is one
of his moose well-known.
•Dante Alighieri, or simply Dante, was an Italian poet from Florence. His most famous work is The Divine Comedy, is
considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature.
• Johannes Gutenberg helped spread Renaissance ideas with the European invention of the moveable type printing
press.
Reformation
• The Great Schism was when the Catholic Church split in half, having two popes at the same time.
• The 95 Theses of Martin Luther stated his objections to the corruption within the Catholic church and the practice of
selling indulgences. This was the beginning of the Reformation.
• John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Wycliff, Desiderius Erasmus, and William Tyndale all protested against Church
practices like excessive taxes and indulgences.
• The Calvinists, followers of John Calvin, believed that one should lead a simple life and be devoted to God. They
also believed that nothing should interfere with individual experience of God.
• Calvin promoted the idea of predestination. God determined before a person was born whether they would go to
heaven or not.
• Justification by faith, a key idea of Martin Luther, held that a person could achieve forgiveness if he accepted God.
• The Church promoted special religious orders to help spread the ideas of the Church. The Jesuits are one example of
this.
• King Henry VIII of England demanded that the Church grant him a divorce. When the Church refused, Parliament
passed the “Act of Supremacy” creating the Church of England, splitting off from the Catholic church.
Scientific Revolution
• The Scientific Revolution was the period of time during the 15th and 16th centuries characterized by new scientific
ideas and the challenge of existing beliefs.
• Galileo’s ideas challenged beliefs of the Catholic church. He said the earth moved around the sun. The Church taught
that the earth was the center of the universe.
• Galileo made new discoveries through observation. Among them were the theory of oval planet orbits.
• The Catholic Church admitted the error condemning Galileo almost 300 years after the fact.
• Scientific method as a series of steps using observation and experimentation in research. It also included a hypothesis
which could be verified by testing.
• Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus may be thought of as one of the first scientists to use data obtained from accurate
observation to refute accepted belief.
• Scientists and Reformation leaders both questioned ideas which had existed for years.
• Mathematician Isaac Newton had logical explanations regarding forces in the universe. He discovered that the force
called gravity held the universe together.
• A revolutionary aspect of scientific method was that people could not learn by accepting truths. Truths must be tested
and proved.
• One of Kepler’s contributions to astronomy was that orbits of planets were oval.
• One of the major ideas of the Enlightenment was applying the principles of scientific reason to social and political
problems.
Age of Exploration, the Enlightenment, and the Age of Reason
• Explorers trying to find the shortest way to the east were motivated by the search for spices.
• Portugal, in the need of money, sent explorers to the New World in search for gold.
• New information from travelers such as Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta, improved maps and inventions that reached
Europe and created desire for such items such as silk, gold, and spices. It also created an interest in exploration.
• The first sailor to successfully lead an expedition that circumnavigated the globe was Magellan.
• Christopher Columbus led four voyages to the New World. Though he never set foot on North American soil, he is
credited with discovering America. Columbus was the first sailor who tried to sail west to find the Orient.
• John Locke wrote Two Treaties of Government in 1690. In it he argued that an agreement between people and their
ruler called a contract was the basis of government. He also said that people had a right to overthrow the ruler if the
contract was not followed, and each person had the rights to life, liberty, and property protection.
• Thomas Jefferson borrowed many ideas from Locke when he wrote the Declaration of Independence.
• Natural Rights were rights guaranteed to all including life, liberty, and the right to own property.
United States History
The Great Awakening
• The Great Awakening of the 1740’s refers to an excitement about religion that swept through the American colonies.
• The Great Awakening was led by Jonathan Edwards, a minister who preached against the sins of man.
• The Great Awakening emphasized the importance of having sincere religious feelings.
• It had important political consequences in encouraging democratic ideals and thoughts of independence.
Declaration of Independence
• Principal author was Thomas Jefferson.
• Begins with the phrase, “When in the course of human events…”
• Includes the phrase: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights".
• Unalienable rights are rights that cannot be taken away. The unalienable rights in the Declaration of Independence
are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
• The Declaration states that it is the right and duty of a people who to overthrow the government and change the
system if the government takes away their rights.
• Gives the power of rule to the people.
• Most of the Declaration deals with grievances against the king.
The U.S. Constitution and its Foundations
• The Magna Carta provided the basis for establishing self-government and addressing the rights of the people.
• The Mayflower Compact was the first known type of government in America.
• The Articles of Confederation was the first government of the United States. It was weak because it did not provide
for a national chief executive, had no power to tax, and there was no national currency.
• The Preamble to the Constitution begins with the phrase: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a
more perfect Union.”
• The Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia, was presided over by George Washington. It got rid of the
Articles of Confederation and wrote a new document.
• The Connecticut Compromise provided for a bicameral legislature (two houses) with equal representation for the
states in one house and representation based on population in another.
• Slavery was a major issue in the Constitutional Convention. The delegates passed the 3/5 Compromise which made
each slave counted as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of levying taxes and apportioning representatives.
However, the word "slavery" never appears in the Constitution.
• The delegates were concerned about one branch of government getting too much power so they created a system of
checks and balances.
• Federalism – a system in which the state and national government share power
• Powers given to the national government – coin money, regulate interstate commerce, establish post offices, establish
foreign policy, maintain armed forces and declare war
• Supporters of the Constitution called themselves Federalists, while those who opposed its ratification were called
Anti-Federalists.
• The Anti-Federalists were concerned about the chief executive having too much power and wanted a Bill of Rights
added to the Constitution
• In defense of the Constitution, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison wrote a series of newspaper letters
known as the Federalist Papers.
• The First Amendment protects the freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and petition.
• The Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms.
• The Fourth Amendment protects the right to privacy and forbids unlawful searches and seizures.
• The Fifth Amendment guarantees that no one may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
• The founders of the Constitution felt that religion should be kept separate from government.
America’s Political System at Work
• The two disagreements between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton led to the creation of the two-party
political system. They disagreed over the size of the federal government. Hamilton favored a strong federal
government, Jefferson a limited federal government with more powers to the states.
• Shay’s Rebellion was caused from the differences people who had money on one side, and people who needed
money on the other hand, and caused Massachusetts to pass the Riot Act, which allowed people to be jailed without a
trial.
• The Whiskey Rebellion was a revolt of Pennsylvania corn farmers who wanted to overturn a high tax placed on
whiskey.
• A bill becomes a law after it is approved by both Houses of Congress and the President signs it into law.
• Citizens can participate in the political process by assisting with elections at the polls, voting, joining a political
parties and participating in political functions.
• The Alien and Sedition Acts posed a serious threat to First Amendment guarantees because they gave the President
the power to deport any alien he thought was dangerous, prohibited assembly with the intent to appose any measure of
the government and prohibited the publishing of anything false or malicious against the government.
Ideals of a New Nation
• The function and responsibilities of a free press include prohibiting the government from suppressing embarrassing
information, encouraging open debate and discussion of public issues, and keeping people informed about issues that
affect them.
• In his Farewell Address of 1797, George Washington advised his countrymen to avoid foreign entanglements, a
military that was too powerful, and political parties, that split people.
• Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States at four cents and acre, cost fifteen million
dollars, gave America control of the port of New Orleans and the Mississippi River, and removed the French treat from
the frontier.
• The main purpose of the Lewis and Clark expedition was to explore the Louisiana Territory.
• In an effort to stop the expansion into their lands, a Shawnee holy man named Chief Tecumseh tried to unite Native
Americans from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.
• At the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition, Spain owned Florida and the land west of the Louisiana Purchase
from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.
• James Monroe’s years as president are referred to as the “Era of Good Feelings” because the Northeast economy
expanded rapidly, with manufacturing bringing prosperity to the region. America was beginning to participate in the
Industrial Revolution. There was little chance that the U.S. would fight another war with Britain.
• President Monroe favored protective tariffs, high taxes placed foreign goods to make the cost of American goods
more competitive.
• The poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow includes “Hiawatha,” “Paul Revere’s Ride,” and “The Courtship of
Miles Standish.”
• James Fenimore Cooper wrote The Last of the Mohicans. Cooper wrote about life on the American frontier.
• Washington Irving is the author of “Rip Van Winkle,” “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” and Tales of a Traveler.
Both Cooper and Irving became two of the first writers to popularize stories about America.
Foreign Policy in the Early Republic
• In the 1800’s, the term impressments referred to a practice used by the British to force men into being sailors in the
British navy.
• Impressment caused problems for the U.S. because American civilians were captured by the British and taken to sea
to work on British warships.
• The causes of the War of 1812 were impressments and British attacks on U.S. merchant ships, Britain providing
Native Americans with arms on the frontier, the desire to expand U.S. territory to include Canada and Spanish Florida.
• The “war hawks” of the West were led by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. They were in favor of entering into war
with Britain in 1812.
• The British burned public buildings in Washington D.C. including the White House during the War of 1812.
• The Battle of Fort McHenry was the inspiration for “The Star Spangled Banner.”
• The consequences of the War of 1812 were the Federalist Party lost influence, Andrew Jackson became a national
hero after the Battle of New Orleans, and Native Americans in the upper Midwest were no longer a threat to U.S.
westward expansion.
• The Monroe Doctrine stated that the United States would not allow any European interference in the western
hemisphere.
Divergent Paths of the Americans: The Westerners
• Andrew Jackson’s election to the Presidency in 1828 was significant because he brought a greater degree of
democracy to American government and a rise in the political participation of the common man.
• Jackson introduced the “spoils system,” that rewarded Jackson’s supporters with government jobs.
• President Jackson vetoed the bill to re charter the Second Bank of the United States because he believed it benefited
the wealthy at the expenses of the common man.
• President Jackson’s policy toward Native Americans centered around a policy of their removal from their homelands.
• In response to the removal policy, the Cherokees appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court ruled in favor of the
Cherokees, but President Jackson refused to obey the law. The Cherokee were then moved to Oklahoma. Thousands
died on the march. The Incident became known as the Trail of Tears.
• Manifest Destiny refers to the belief that the United States was meant to spread across the continent.
• After Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in 1821, there were few Mexicans living in Texas, so the
Mexican government encouraged Americans to settle East Texas.
• In the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo that ended the war with Mexico, the U.S. paid $15 million for territory known
as the Mexican Cession, which the U.S. received Mexican territory that included the future states of Calif., Nevada,
Utah, most of New Mexico and Arizona, and parts of Wyoming and Colorado; set the U.S. border at the Rio Grande
River.
• The Lone Star Republic was annexed by the U.S. after the presidential election of James K. Polk
Divergent Paths of the Americans: The Northeasterners
• Between 1790 and 1840, the U.S. underwent many changes. The country had doubled in size; its population which
had grown from 4 million to 17 million; a change from 90% of Americans working as farmers to 60% engaged in
farming by 1840; the number of people in towns grew from 5% to 11%.
• The urbanization of the Northeast can be contributed to machines run by waterpower that required factories to be
located by lakes, rivers and waterfalls; the factory system replaced the domestic system in the early 1800’s; the first
mills were established in the New England states.
• Henry Clay’s vision of the American System included a national system of roads and canals to improve the nation's
transportation system.
• The Erie Canal made transportation of goods on the Great Lakes much easier.
• The Transportation Revolution in the 1800’s included development canals, steamboats, and railroads; provide a great
economic boost to the entire country; created and expansion of business opportunities throughout the nation.
• In the 1840’s, immigrants to the U.S. came from Ireland because of the Great Famine that was caused by a disease
that destroyed potato crops.
• Among the free blacks who lived in the North were Benjamin Banneker, a mathematician, William Wells Brown, the
first African American novelist and playwright, and abolitionists Henry Highland Garnet, Charles Remond, and
Frederick Douglass.
• Educational reformers like Horace Mann called for free public schools to promote an educated population; supported
public schools to prevent social ills like crime and poverty; were in favor of raising taxes to pay for public education.
• Women’s suffrage was espoused by Lucretia Mott, who organized the Women’s Rights Convention At Seneca Falls,
New York; Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an abolitionist that was not allowed to participate in an all male antislavery
conference; and Susan B. Anthony, who argued for equal pay for women teachers and equal property rights for
women.
• Transcendentalism was a philosophy and literary movement that emphasized the unity of human beings with nature
and the importance of self-reliance and individual conscience; was publicized by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David
Thoreau, Bronson Alcott, and Margaret Fuller; provided support for reform in America, particularly the antislavery
movement.
Divergent Paths of the Americans: The Southerners
• The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney. The cotton gin was a machine that took separated cottonseed from the
cotton fiber. This made it possible for one person to remove the seeds from 50 pounds of cotton a day, verses 1 pound
a day without the cotton gin.
• Cotton farming in the South greatly expanded after the invention of the cotton gin and slaves were considered more
valuable than ever. Less slaves were freed by their owners. Slaves were now expected to work even harder because of
the high price of cotton made a lot of money for their owners.
• Cotton was not the only important crop grown in the South. Tobacco was still very important.
• The majority of wealth and land in the South was concentrated in the hands of very few wealthy plantation owners.
• 3/4 of the white families had no slaves and worked on their own small farms.
• In support of slavery, Southerners argued that “Cotton is King” and the national economy would collapse without
slave labor to produce it. They also argued that to criticize slavery was unpatriotic, and that slavery was good for the
slaves because they didn't’ have to beg like poor urban free workers in the North.
• Abolitionists argued that slavery was to the American political principle that all men are created equal, as well as the
religious belief that all human beings are equal in the eyes of God.
• Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vesey, and Nat Turner all plotted slave revolts.
• After Nat Turner’s revolt it became illegal in most states to teach blacks how to read, and anyone caught doing it
would be put to death.
• Harriet Tubman made 19 trips into the South as a conductor on the Underground Railroad and helped nearly 300
slaves escape to freedom.
The Abolitionist Movement
• The Quakers were among the earliest groups against slavery.
• The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was the first national stand against slavery, and declared that the land north of the
Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River should be without slaves.
• The Missouri Compromise of 1820 allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine to enter as a free
state and kept the balance of slave a free states equal.
• William Lloyd Garrison favored the immediate abolition of all slaves. Garrison published The Liberator newspaper
and founded the American Anti-Slavery Society.
• Frederick Douglass was a slave that escaped to freedom and settled in Massachusetts and published the abolitionist
newspaper, The North Star.
• The Underground Railroad was an informal organization that helped slaves hide in safe houses as they escaped to
Canada.
• John Brown led an attack on the U.S. government armory in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.
• California’s petition for admission to the Union led to the Compromise of 1850 in which it was admitted as a free
state.
• In the Compromise of 1850, to appease the South, Congress passed a strong Fugitive Slave Law that strictly forbade
Northerners to grant refuge to escaped slaves, allowed the people of New Mexico and Utah to decide by popular
sovereignty whether they wanted to be free or slave. The Compromise also abolished the slave trade in Washington
D.C.
• Henry Clay, the Great Compromiser worked out many compromises which eased sectional conflicts.
• The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 arose as a result of the territories of Kansas and Nebraska applying for statehood
and left the question of slavery in up to popular sovereignty flooding both territories with people on both sides of the
slavery issue.
• The Supreme Court's ruling in Dred Scott v. Stanford (1857) stated that an enslaved person was property and could
be taken anywhere the slave owner wanted. It also stated that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories.
• The Lincoln-Douglass debates centered around the slavery question, with Douglas trying to paint Lincoln as a radical
abolitionist, and Lincoln trying the portray Douglas as a pro-slavery supporter of the Dred Scott case.
The Civil War
• John C. Calhoun argued on several occasions that a state had a right to refuse to obey any federal law that it believed
to be unconstitutional.
• The doctrine of nullification is premised on the importance of states’ rights. The South used nullification when they
seceded.
• Regarding the issue of slavery in 1850, John C. Calhoun argued that citizens had the right to take their property
(slaves) into all territories of the U.S., including new lands acquired from Mexico.
• Daniel Webster argued for peace and unity of the nation, not as a northerner, but as an American in support of a
compromise over slavery. Webster believed that the South should not be allowed to secede from the Union.
• Henry Clay looked beyond sectional demands to forge a compromise that made both sides of the slavery issue give
something up they wanted.
• By 1860, the North and South had grown into sections that were widely unlike because the South was almost totally
rural, and the North was thriving on industries in several urban centers.
• When Lincoln was elected president in 1860, the Southern states seceded from the Union.
• Jefferson Davis was elected to be president of the Confederacy.
• Robert E. Lee was Lincoln’s first choice to command the Union Army. Lee proved more loyal to Virginia that to the
nation. He was joined by many Southerners who resigned from the U.S. Army.
• Ulysses S. Grant had done poorly in his studies at West Point, but proved to be an excellent military leader.
• The advantages the North had during the war were it had a much larger population, many more industrial resources,
and much more money.
• The South’s main advantage was fighting at home. The South only had to fight long enough to convince the North
that it could not conquer the South.
• Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It freed only enslaved persons in the Confederate states.
• During the war 186,000 African American soldiers fought for the U.S. in 166 all-black regiments. The most well
known regiment of black soldiers was the 54th Massachusetts.
• President Lincoln’s first acts during the war were to call for 75,000 volunteers to serve in the military for three
months, and to order a naval blockade of southern ports to prevent the exportation of cotton and the importation of
munitions and supplies.
• The Second Battle of Bull Run in 1862 marked a low point in the war for the North, because the Union troops had
been pushed back from Richmond to Washington.
• The Battle of Antietam was won by the North after General McClellan intercepted a copy of General Lee’s orders
detailing troop placement. Antietam was the bloodiest single day in American history. The battle enabled President
Lincoln to publish the Emancipation Proclamation from a position of strength. It also stalled Lee’s invasion of the
North.
• General Ulysses S. Grant and General William Tecumseh Sherman joined forces to overcome the Confederacy in
Vicksburg. They also gained control of the Mississippi River and effectively split the Confederacy in two parts that
could not communicate with each other or sent reinforcements.
• The Battle of Gettysburg was General Lee’s attempt to take the war into the North in the state of Pennsylvania, where
a victory would give him a clear road to Washington. The battle had serious consequences for the future because the
Confederacy lost one-third of its army’s effective strength. The South did not invade northern territories again.
• President Lincoln appointed General Ulysses S. Grant the head of the Union armies because Grant demonstrated the
tenacity and willingness to fight and fight again.
• Grant put General Sherman in charge of a strategy to split the South horizontally by destroying everything in the path
of a march through Georgia to the sea.
• New technology made the Civil War even more deadly. Cannons and bullets were improved. Ironclad warships were
developed that could withstand cannon shot. More accurate rifles were used.
• At the Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, at President Lincoln’s request, General Grant offered generous
terms of surrender to the Confederacy that allowed Confederates to return home with their horses and side arms.
General Lee was dignified in defeat and General Grant was gracious in victory. Lee and Grant even shook hands and
reminisced about the days when they were colleagues in the army.
• After the Civil War, the South was physically, economically, and spiritually devastated. The war left hatred between
the North and the South that lasted for decades. The southern aristocracy was stripped of its wealth and power.
Reconstruction
• The purpose of Reconstruction was to bring the southern states back into the Union. Reconstruction also ensured
black Americans their freedom. Another aim of Reconstruction was to rebuild the South from the great destruction of
the war.
• Reconstruction provided southern states would be readmitted to the Union when their men took loyalty oaths to the
U.S. It required each southern state to from a government and draft a new constitution that banned slavery, and
provided provisions for the states to provide free public education to blacks.
• The Freedmen’s Bureau helped southern blacks who were homeless and jobless because of the war. It also provided
for education for ex-slaves.
• Immediately after the Civil War, most ex-slaves became sharecroppers on land owned by whites. They stayed poor,
but enjoyed greater freedom over their personal lives.
• Southern states that were readmitted to the Union after the Civil War tried to keep freedmen subservient by enacting
Black Codes that barred blacks from doing any work except farming and household service.
• The 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery everywhere in the U.S.
• The 14th Amendment made African-Americans citizens and guaranteed equal protection of the laws to all citizens.
• The 15th Amendment extended the right to vote to black males.
• The South employed many means to deprive black of the right to vote. They included a poll tax, a literacy test, and
the grandfather clause. These laws were called the Black Codes.
• The Jim Crow laws of the South extended segregation, or separation of the races, in all public places. They were
challenged in court and found constitutional by the majority of the Supreme Court.
• The Ku Klux Klan was determined to keep blacks from voting and influencing politics. The KKK claimed to be the
ghosts of Confederate soldiers and terrorized blacks in the night. They were responsible for the beating and murdering
of hundreds of blacks.
Industrial Revolution
• The Bessemer converter quickly changed iron to steel and made mass production of steel a reality. Andrew Carnegie,
an American immigrant of humble beginnings, built the largest Bessemer plant in America and became the second
richest man in the world.
• In the 1870’s, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, and Thomas Edison invented the phonograph and the
light bulb.
• John D. Rockefeller got rich in the oil refinery business, Andrew Carnegie got rich in the steel business, and Leland
Stanford got rich in the railroad industry. All three men would make and give away millions in charity.
• Immigrants between 1865 and 1880 from western and northern Europe contributed to the growth of America’s large
cities.
• The American Federation of Labor was one of the first labor unions. The AFL was founded by Samuel Gompers.
• The labor strikes from 1881-1905 helped workers win the 8-hour workday.
• The Grange was the first national farmer organization. It was also known as the Patrons of Husbandry. The Grange
was open to men and women.
• After the Civil War, the Bureau of Indian Affairs adopted a policy known as concentration to keep the Native
Americans confined to certain areas of the West away from traveling settlers.
• The search for gold, silver, and copper, and the building of the railroads led to the demise of the buffalo, and with it,
the main source of food, clothing, and shelter for the Plains Indians.