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This page shows a list of standards in the 8th Grade Social Studies public release collection at MSDE. 8th Grade Social Studies
Released Questions in Standard "2.0 Peoples of the Nations and World"

Select a question from the following list. The content of that question will be shown, and you can interact with it here.

Expand All Official Practice Test

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Information about the Question.

Study the information.

Figure. The figure shows two incomplete statements under the title “Selected Treaties Signed during the Revolutionary War.” Each statement has a question mark in place of a piece of missing information. The first statement reads, “The Treaty of Amity and Commerce recognized the United States as an independent nation and promoted trade between, question mark, and America.” The second statement reads, “The Treaty of Alliance created an alliance between, question mark, and the United States against Great Britain.” End figure description.

Which country correctly replaces the question marks in this information?

  1. A.
    Spain
  2. B.
    France
  3. C.
    Ireland
  4. D.
    Germany

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Information about the Question.

What motivated enslaved African Americans to support the Patriot cause?

  1. A.
    the promise of manumission
  2. B.
    the promise of military promotion
  3. C.
    the promise of suffrage
  4. D.
    the promise of election to public office

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Information about the Question.

Which statement best describes the experience of American Indians during the American Revolution?

  1. A.
    They remained neutral by signing treaties with Canada and Spain.
  2. B.
    They received large tracts of land from the American government.
  3. C.
    They were relocated to reservations in the western United States.
  4. D.
    They served on both the American and British sides during the war.

This is a test question that allows you to enter extended text in your response.

Study the graph, and use it to answer the constructed-response question.

The bar graph is titled “U.S. Presidential Elections: Voter Turnout for Eligible Voters.” The horizontal axis is labelled Year and goes from 1828 to 1840 in increments of 4 years. The vertical axis is labelled Percent of Voter Turnout and goes from zero to 90 in increments of ten. The data on the graph is as follows. Eighteen twenty eight: about 58%. Eighteen thirty two: about 57%. Eighteen thirty six: about 58%. Eighteen forty: about 80%.
  • Identify a cause of the shift shown in the graph.
  • Explain the impact of Jacksonian Democracy on political participation.
  • Use details and examples from the graph to support your response.

Enter your answer in the space provided.

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Chief Tecumseh’s Confederation chose to fight with the British during the War of 1812 because the British

  1. A.
    opposed the expansion of settlers into the Northwest.
  2. B.
    opposed the enslavement of African Americans in the South.
  3. C.
    supported French efforts to trade with American Indians.
  4. D.
    supported Spanish claims to the Louisiana Purchase.

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Marriage was important to many enslaved African Americans because it

  1. A.
    was a form of legal protection.
  2. B.
    guaranteed they would remain with one slave owner.
  3. C.
    reduced the likelihood of punishment.
  4. D.
    was an opportunity to have control over life choices.

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

What was one long-term effect of the exploration of the land within the Louisiana Purchase?

  1. A.
    increased economic reliance on the French government
  2. B.
    decreased access to the Canadian fur trade
  3. C.
    increased conflicts with American Indians
  4. D.
    decreased support for British colonial policies

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Read the list.

underlined question mark

  • Running away
  • Destroying property
  • Engaging in sabotage
  • Working slowly

Which title best completes this list?

  1. A.
    Ways Enslaved African Americans Resisted Enslavement
  2. B.
    Ways Colonists Protested British Taxes
  3. C.
    Ways American Indians Responded to White Settlement in the West
  4. D.
    Ways Women Worked to Achieve Suffrage

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

What was one result of the Emancipation Proclamation?

  1. A.
    Border states seceded and joined the Confederacy.
  2. B.
    Slavery was ended throughout the United States.
  3. C.
    Great Britain decided to support the Confederacy.
  4. D.
    Many African Americans were allowed to join the Union army.

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Study the diagram.

The diagram has a circle at the top and two boxes below the circle, connected to the circle by lines. The circle at the top has a question mark, indicating missing information. The two boxes read as follows: slowing work production and coordinating destruction of property.

What is the best title for this diagram?

  1. A.
    Forms of Economic Protest Used by Colonists
  2. B.
    Forms of Social Protest Used by Women Suffragettes
  3. C.
    Forms of Sabotage Used by Enslaved African Americans
  4. D.
    Forms of Resistance Used by Sharecroppers

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Which event demonstrates the physical removal of American Indians’ rights to their land?

  1. A.
    Trail of Tears
  2. B.
    Seneca Falls Convention
  3. C.
    Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
  4. D.
    Nullification Crisis

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

How did the Mexican government view the U.S. annexation of Texas?

  1. A.
    as a threat to territorial security
  2. B.
    as a peaceful transition of power
  3. C.
    as an economic opportunity
  4. D.
    as a danger to religious freedom

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Read the excerpt.

[Nat Turner’s men] said Captain Harris and his family had escaped, the property in the house they destroyed, robbing [Captain Harris] of money and other valuables  . . . I proceeded to Mr. Levi Waller’s, two or three miles distant. I took my station in the rear, and as [it was] my object to carry terror and devastation wherever we went, I placed fifteen or twenty of the best armed and most to be relied on, in front, who generally approached the houses as fast as their horses could run; this was for two purposes, to prevent their escape and strike terror to the inhabitants . . . 

— The Confessions of Nat Turner, 1831


Why were actions such as these alarming to owners of enslaved African Americans?

  1. A.
    They allowed enslaved African Americans to show how easy it was to run away.
  2. B.
    They reinforced the idea of enslaved African Americans using the Underground Railroad.
  3. C.
    They demonstrated the possibility of enslaved African Americans rebelling.
  4. D.
    They demonstrated the desire among enslaved African Americans to join the military.

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Information about the Question.

Read the excerpt.

 . . . The only way to stop this evil, is for all the [American Indians] to unite in claiming a common and equal right in the land as it was at first, and should be now–for it never was divided, but belongs to all . . . Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the clouds and the great sea, as well as the earth?

—Chief Tecumseh to Governor of Indiana Territory William Henry Harrison, 1810

What cause of the War of 1812 is Tecumseh protesting against in this speech?

  1. A.
    British impressment of U.S. sailors
  2. B.
    violation of shipping rights
  3. C.
    westward expansion by white settlers
  4. D.
    U.S. desire to annex Canada

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

To which group did the Emancipation Proclamation apply?

  1. A.
    European immigrants in northeastern factories
  2. B.
    African Americans enslaved in rebelling states
  3. C.
    American Indians relocated to reservations
  4. D.
    Chinese miners in western territories

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Read the list.

Examples of Resistance Used by Enslaved African Americans

  • breaking tools
  • disabling machinery
  • setting fires

Why were these forms of resistance used by many enslaved African Americans?

  1. A.
    to assist slave owners in modernizing plantations
  2. B.
    to warn other enslaved African Americans against misbehaving
  3. C.
    to indirectly protest treatment by slave owners
  4. D.
    to encourage other enslaved African Americans to run away

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Information about the question.

Multiple-choice question with one correct answer choice. Additional information needed to answer the question is provided.

Read the list.

?̲ in the American Revolution

  • represented about 15 to 20 percent of the colonial population
  • were treated harshly by colonists
  • sometimes tarred and feathered
  • many fled from the colonies after the war

Which term best completes the title of this list?

  1. A.
    British Soldiers
  2. B.
    Loyalists
  3. C.
    Patriots
  4. D.
    American Indians

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Information about the question.

Multiple-choice question with one correct answer choice.

Which group is best known for promoting education for African Americans during Reconstruction?

  1. A.
    members of the Federalist Party
  2. B.
    members of the Sons and Daughters of Liberty
  3. C.
    members of the Freedmen’s Bureau
  4. D.
    members of the Temperance Movement

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Information about the Question.

Read the excerpt.

Liberty of the press and of opinion is calculated [designed] to destroy all confidence between man and man.

—U.S. Congressman

What was the result of the concern raised by this congressman?

  1. A.
    passage of the Sedition Act of 1798
  2. B.
    passage of the Intolerable Acts of 1774
  3. C.
    expansion of the abolitionist movement
  4. D.
    expansion of prison reforms

This is a test question that allows you to select a spot or region on a graphic.

Study the newspaper headlines.

Select the two newspaper headlines that show the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in Worcester v. Georgia (1832).

This is a test question that allows you to enter extended text in your response.

Information about the Question.

Use your knowledge of U.S. history to answer the constructed response question.

  • Identify the reasons for Pontiac’s Rebellion following the French and Indian War.
  • Explain how Pontiac’s Rebellion affected relationships between the British and the colonists.
  • Use details and examples to support your response.

Enter your answer in the space provided.

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Information about the question.

Multiple-choice question with one correct answer choice.

What was a purpose of the Freedmen’s Bureau?

  1. A.
    to prevent freed African Americans from being drafted into the military
  2. B.
    to assist with the removal of Union soldiers from the South
  3. C.
    to prevent former Confederate soldiers from being elected to political office
  4. D.
    to provide freed African Americans with access to formerly denied services

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Information about the question.

Multiple-choice question with one correct answer choice. Additional information needed to answer the question is provided.

Read the information.

On March 3, 1863, Congress passed the Enrollment Act. It called for all male citizens and immigrants between the ages of 20 and 45 to register in a national military draft system. The act allowed for a person to be exempt from registering if he paid $300 or found a person to replace him.

What was one reaction to the Enrollment Act?

  1. A.
    President Andrew Johnson was impeached.
  2. B.
    Riots broke out in several Northern cities.
  3. C.
    Fewer Union troops deserted.
  4. D.
    States seceded from the Union.

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Information about the question.

Multiple-choice question with one correct answer choice.

What was the outcome of the impressment of sailors by the British?

  1. A.
    the issuing of the Proclamation of 1763
  2. B.
    the start of the War of 1812
  3. C.
    the passage of the Missouri Compromise
  4. D.
    the start of the Nullification Crisis

This is a question with 2 parts, including a drag and drop question that allows you to select text and place it in an appropriate answer space, and, a multiple choice question that allows you to select several options.

Select two effects of the Emancipation Proclamation.

  1. A.
    It caused the South to recruit more soldiers.
  2. B.
    It allowed many African Americans to join the Union army.
  3. C.
    It prolonged the war by provoking the Confederacy.
  4. D.
    It freed enslaved African Americans in rebelling states.
  5. E.
    It led to riots over shortages of supplies.

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Information about the Question.

Read the excerpt.

 . . .  laws which  . . .  she has had no voice in establishing, and which rob her of some of her essential rights.

—Sarah M. Grimké, 1838

Which action does Sarah Grimké support in this excerpt?

  1. A.
    allowing women to vote
  2. B.
    allowing women to attend college
  3. C.
    granting women equal pay
  4. D.
    granting citizenship to women

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Read the excerpt.

The Conscription [draft] is a necessity; the Conscription is a law; the Conscription is just. It is demanded for the suppression [crushing] of the Southern rebellion; it is needed to fill up our heroic but shattered regiments; the country called for it  . . .  It is the justest mode of raising an army—just to the people of every class and condition, poor and rich, black and white.

—"The Conscription Must be Enforced," New York Times, 1863

What was one reaction to the situation described in the excerpt?

  1. A.
    Taxes on Southern goods were removed.
  2. B.
    States began to secede from the Union.
  3. C.
    European countries began sending soldiers.
  4. D.
    Riots broke out in several Northern cities.

This is a test question that allows you to enter extended text in your response.

Use your knowledge of U.S. history to answer the constructed response question.

  • Define the phrase social reform movement.
  • Explain the goals of the temperance movement.
  • Use details and examples to support your response.

Enter your answer in the space provided.

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Read the list.

mathematics expression or equation

  • viewed as property
  • families often separated
  • received harsh punishments for disobedience

Which title completes this list?

  1. A.
    Treatment of American Indians by White Settlers
  2. B.
    Life for Enslaved African Americans
  3. C.
    Experiences of Women Suffragists
  4. D.
    Management of Workers by Factory Owners

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Study the map.

The image title is Trail of Tears, 1830s. Legend, dark gray, Indian reservations; black, Chickasaw and Choctaw Indian lands; gray, Cherokee and Creek Indian Lands; light gray, Seminole Indian Lands; arrow represents routes.

Which event caused the movement of people shown on this map?

  1. A.
    the passage of the Indian Claims Limitations Act
  2. B.
    the enforcement of the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act
  3. C.
    the enforcement of the Indian Removal Act
  4. D.
    the adoption of the Indian Reorganization Act

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Read the excerpt.

In 1860, Elizabeth Burkett  . . .  with her husband, Henry Burkett  . . .  and  . . .  fellow slaves Thomas Sipple, his wife Mary Ann Sipple, John Purnell, and Hale Burton, holding a total of thirty dollars and looking to cross the Delaware Bay into freedom  . . .  purchased a small vessel for six dollars and began their journey up the coast on their way to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. En route, they encountered a group of white men who attempted to overtake the slaves' boat. The fugitives, however, defended their vessel and continued on, despite injury to the passengers.

Archives of Maryland

What form of resistance to slavery is described in this excerpt?

  1. A.
    running away
  2. B.
    sabotage
  3. C.
    faking illness
  4. D.
    working slowly

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Read the lyrics.

Oh! times are tough, amazing rough,
Expenses are alarming,
I will go West, it's far the best,
Try my luck at farming.
For the idea, of staying here
To just earn your gruel,
Makes me feel sad and sometimes mad
’Tis so awful cruel.
Goods are so high, I heave a sigh,
At the cost of living,
My loving wife, she sees the strife
And has a spell of crying.

"I Will Go West!" by J.P. Barrett, 1875

Which group's views are best represented by these song lyrics?

  1. A.
    American Indians
  2. B.
    Mexican ranchers
  3. C.
    Enslaved African Americans
  4. D.
    White settlers

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Dorothea Dix led a successful campaign to help people with mental illnesses and promote

  1. A.
    the abolition of slavery.
  2. B.
    the adoption of temperance.
  3. C.
    reforms to prison systems.
  4. D.
    mandatory school attendance.

This is a test question that allows you to select a spot or region on a graphic.

Select two phrases that describe negative impacts of Manifest Destiny.

This is a drag and drop question that allows you to select objects and place them in an appropriate answer space.

Study the diagram.

Select the two statements about American Indian involvement in the American Revolution and move them to complete the diagram.