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8th Grade US History Interim Assessment 2 ReviewStudentClassDate

1. What was the function of the Declaration of Independence?

A. to announce to the world the American colonies’ reasons for separation from England

B. to demand representation in Parliament for the American colonies

C. to establish a government for the American colonies

D. to claim new territory for American colonists

2. From what country did the United States gain its independence?

A. Spain

B. England

C. Germany

D. France

8th Grade US History Interim Assessment 2 /18

3. Use the passage to answer the question.

In the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson criticized the King for allowing the slave trade to continue. He wrote:

He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither.

The Continental Congress eliminated the statement before signing the Declaration.

Which reason best explains the Congress’s decision to eliminate the statement?

A. The Congress knew that some colonies profited in the slave trade.

B. The Congress worried that the passage would inflame tensions with American Indians.

C. The Congress knew that Jefferson owned slaves and found the passage contradictory.

D. The Congress thought that the passage would make it hard to win support from France.

4. Read the following.

“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, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

This quote is from with American document?

A. Constitution


B. Declaration of Independence

C. Olive Branch Petition

D. Mayflower Compact

5. Which of the following ideas is not reflected in the Declaration of Independence?

A. natural rights

B. popular sovereignty

C. equal rights

D. abolition of slavery

6. Use the passage to answer the question.

The Declaration of Independence states all people have certain unalienable rights.

What does certain unalienable rights mean?

A. New citizens have no rights.

B. No rights can be taken away.

C. Only certain people have rights.

D. Certain rights can never be taken away.


7. According to the philosophy of natural rights, a citizen is entitled to revolt against a government only when it attempts to take away the people’s

A. inalienable rights.

B. cultural rights.

C. social rights.

D. educational rights.

8. Use the information in the boxes to answer the question that follows.

Constitutional Convention, 1787

Northen States Southern States

• Enslaved population SHOULD NOT be counted to determine representation in the House of Representatives

• Enslaved population SHOULD be counted for determining taxation

• Enslaved population SHOULD be counted to determine representation in the House of Representatives

• Enslaved population SHOULD NOT be counted for determining taxation

What solution did the delegates at the Constitutional Convention design to resolve this debate?

A. the Virginia Plan


B. the New Jersey Plan

C. the Great Compromise

D. the Three-Fifths Compromise

9. The New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan proposed at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 disagreed with each other about the basis of representation in the legislative branch. What best explains the reason for this disagreement?

A. Some states wanted indirect elections, but others wanted elections by universal suffrage.

B. Some states wanted a parliamentary system, but others wanted separate branches of government.

C. Some states wanted equal representation, but others wanted representation according to size of population.

D. Some states wanted representatives appointed by governors, but others wanted them appointed by state legislators.

10. One of the decisions reached at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 became known as the Three-Fifths Compromise. Which statement best explains support for this compromise?

A. Larger states supported it for requiring indirect election to the Senate.

B. Smaller states supported it for expanding the power of the House of Representatives.

C. Northern states supported it for guaranteeing states with more industry a lower tax rate.


D. Southern states supported it for counting part of states’ enslaved population towards representation.

11. One of the decisions reached at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 was that representation and voting in the House of Representatives would be based on population. Which statement best explains a reason for this decision?

A. It guaranteed the southern states a larger representation than the northern states.

B. It addressed the concerns of larger states about equal representation in the Senate.

C. It satisfied supporters of universal suffrage because everyone would be represented.

D. It ensured that the legislative branch would be more powerful than the other branches.

12.

Use the excerpt below to answer the question.

I wish the Constitution which is offered had been made more perfect, but I sincerely believe it is the best that could be obtained at this time; and, as a Constitutional door is opened for amendment hereafter, the adoption of it under the present circumstances of the Union, is in my option desirable.

—George Washington to Patrick Henry, September 24, 1787

What action made the new Constitution more perfect for Anti-Federalists?


A. the establishment of a unicameral legislature

B. the promise of the addition of a Bill of Rights

C. the establishment of a Supreme Court

D. the restriction of voting rights to property owners

13. Delegates met in Philadelphia in 1787 to create a new government. Soon after the convention began, two competing plans for representation developed. Large states supported a plan that created a strong national government. Their plan would base representation by the size of population. Small states supported a plan for a weaker national government that would have a one-house legislature represent all states equally. Disputes between big states and small states nearly broke up the convention. The delegates finally compromised on a plan that created a powerful national government. The legislature would have two houses. The number of representatives to the lower house would be based on population. Each state would send two representatives to the upper house.

What did small states gain in the compromise plan?

A. a powerful national government to protect their interests against big states

B. some ability in the upper house to check large states' power in the lower house

C. the right to elect some members to the upper house based on their populations

D. the right to have two representatives per state in the upper house, rather than just one per state


14. Use the table below to answer the question.

The Great Compromise

Senate House of Representatives

One official per state

Number of officials determined based on population

Which phrase best explains the cause of the results in this table?

A. the issue of slavery

B. the concerns of colonial loyalists

C. the conflict between large and small states

D. the need of the federal government to levy taxes

15. Which of the following best reflects the motivation of the Framers of the Constitution to add the Bill of Rights in 1791?

A. It was a compromise which ensured the ratification of the Constitution by New York and Virginia, guaranteeing state and civil liberties.

B. James Madison, the “father” of the Constitution, personally felt the document was incomplete and requested the authority to draft the new amendments.

C. The Congress wished to try out the new amendment process to see if it worked.

D. The Supreme Court had ruled the document to be “unconstitutional” due to the lack of the Bill of Rights.

16. Most of the provisions found in the Great Compromise made at the Constitutional Convention were taken from:

A. the Albany Plan.


B. the New Jersey Plan.

C. the Connecticut Plan.

D. the Virginia Plan.

17. Which factor is used to assign electoral votes to each state?

A. geographic size of the state

B. regional identification of the state

C. number of representatives and senators

D. process for choosing governors and legislators

18. The main reason states such as California, Florida, and New York have significant influence on presidential elections is because they have

Number of Electors in Selected States, 2008 Election

Alaska 3

California 55

Connecticut 7


Florida 27

Georgia 5

New York 31

Oregon 7

Wyoming 3

A. distinct cultures.

B. large populations.

C. early party primaries.

D. ideal locations for campaigning.

19. In August 1787, delegates from each of the 13 states met in Philadelphia and wrote the Constitution. They all had many goals for the government of the United States. Sometimes they disagreed with each other. After a month of arguing, they came to an agreement.

Which goal did delegates agree was the most important?

A. abolishing slavery

B. protecting individual rights

C. supporting western farmers

D. keeping state governments strong

20. The Articles of Confederation were replaced by which document?


A. Bill of Rights

B. Constitution

C. Magna Carta

D. Emancipation Proclamation

21. Use the excerpt to answer the question that follows.

Our Debts being unfunded and unprovided for, the Interest cannot be paid . . .. The United States have call’d for eight Million of Dollars early in November last, of which the first quarterly Payment was to have been made on the first Day of April. But I cannot find a single State has laid the Taxes . . .. [L]et the several States be ever so negligent, the Confederation has given no Power to compel [force]. While it confers on Congress the Privilege of asking everything, it has secured to each State the Prerogative of granting nothing.

—Robert Morris, Secretary of the Treasury, to John Hanson, president of the Continental Congress, February 11, 1782

The author of this excerpt is expressing concern about what weakness in the Articles of Confederation?

A. The national government had no army.

B. The national government had no power to


tax.

C. The national government had no system of courts.

D. The national government had no executive branch.

22. How did the Articles of Confederation create a weak national government?

A. The national government controlled the admission of states.

B. The Articles of Confederation gave the national government powers it no longer needed.

C. The national government could regulate the western land claims of the original 13 colonies.

D. The Articles of Confederation created a national government with few powers to manage the economy.

23. Why were the Articles of Confederation replaced?

A. The Articles provided for a weak national government.

B. The Articles provided for a strong national government.

C. The Articles provided for a monarchy.

D. The Articles provided for unequal representation in the legislature.

24. Which of the following could the national government not do under the Articles of Confederation?


A. impose taxes

B. declare war and make peace

C. coin money

D. establish a postal system

25. The U.S. Constitution’s objective to “provide for the common defense” was intended to address which deficiency of the Articles of Confederation?

A. the absence of a national court system

B. the inability of Congress to collect taxes

C. the lack of an effective national military

D. the failure of congressional foreign policy

26. In 1794, the United States government sent troops to put down the Whiskey Rebellion, a revolt in western Pennsylvania. This revolt was a response against which government policy?

A. a federal tax

B. a national bank

C. a trade embargo

D. a protective tariff


27. What was a major reason for the rise of the Federalist and the Democratic - Republican parties during George Washington’s presidency?

A. differences regarding political and economic issues

B. differences regarding Indian removal

C. differences regarding the rights of women

D. differences regarding the status of free blacks and slaves

28. Direct democracy in the form of town meetings developed in New England more so than in the other regions of colonial America. Which statement best explains why?

A. New England had more settlers who were familiar with democratic government.

B. The charters issued for the New England colonies required that form of government.

C. New England had larger towns where many people could gather together.

D. The population in New England was small enough for people to represent themselves.

29. Use the table below to answer the question.

Federalists Democratic-Republicans

• Strongest support in New England • Favored a strong central government • Supported by bankers and big

• Strongest support in the South • Favored states’ rights • Supported by farmers and shopkeepers


business owners • Led by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams

• Led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison

Which of the following individuals would have been most supportive of the Federalist Party in 1800?

A. a large plantation owner in Virginia

B. a small grocery store owner in Georgia

C. a small farmer in rural Pennsylvania

D. a large shipping company owner in Massachusetts

30. What is the main difference between Federalists and Anti-Federalists?

A. The Anti-Federalists were in favor of a strong federal government.

B. The Federalists were in favor of a weak federal government.

C. The Federalists were in favor of a monarchy.

D. The Anti-Federalists were in favor of strong state governments.

31. Use the information to answer the question.


Which Founding Father completes the diagram?

A. John Adams

B. Alexander Hamilton

C. James Madison

D. George Washington

32. What was a major disagreement between Federalists and anti-Federalists during the ratification of the U.S. Constitution?

A. which party leader should be elected president

B. whether the legislature should override a veto

C. how much power state governments should retain

D. when to enforce the concept of judicial review

33. Which action did the first Congress take to satisfy anti-Federalist concerns regarding


constitutional reform?

A. revising the Articles of Confederation

B. approving the Connecticut Compromise

C. ratifying the Virginia Plan

D. adding the Bill of Rights

34. What was one argument against the ratification of the U.S. Constitution?

A. It lacked a bill of rights.

B. It lacked a strong executive branch.

C. It granted states too much power.

D. It included a system of checks and balances.

35. What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution called?

A. Bill of Rights

B. Preamble

C. Declaration of Independence

D. Articles


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