U.S. History to 1877 (Grade 8) Midterm — Full-Course Review

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Grade 8 30 multiple choice + 2 written

Free printable U.S. History to 1877 midterm (Grade 8): 30 multiple-choice questions plus 2 written responses covering Colonial America, Road to Revolution, The American Revolution, Constitution & Early Republic, Expansion & Reform, Civil War & Reconstruction. Answer key included — customize it in the Midterm Maker.

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Directions: Read each question carefully and choose the best answer. Answer the written response in complete sentences.

Covers: Colonial America · Road to Revolution · The American Revolution · Constitution & Early Republic · Expansion & Reform · Civil War & Reconstruction

Part 1: Multiple Choice

Why did the Pilgrims settle at Plymouth in 1620?
1. A. To trade furs with France
2. B. To practice their religion freely
3. C. To search for gold and silver
4. D. To grow tobacco for profit
What was the Middle Passage?
1. A. A trade route between New England and Canada
2. B. The forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic
3. C. A mountain pass used by western settlers
4. D. A canal linking the Middle Colonies to the sea
William Penn founded Pennsylvania as a safe place for which group?
1. A. Quakers
2. B. Catholics
3. C. Puritans
4. D. Pilgrims
Which cash crop helped the Jamestown colony survive economically?
1. A. Sugar cane
2. B. Cotton
3. C. Tobacco
4. D. Rice
Why is Virginia's House of Burgesses (1619) important?
1. A. It was the first elected representative assembly in the English colonies
2. B. It was the first colonial court to try criminals
3. C. It was the first school in the English colonies
4. D. It was the first treaty with Native Americans
What was one effect of the Intolerable Acts?
1. A. Boston Harbor was closed
2. B. The Stamp Act was repealed
3. C. Colonists were allowed to settle west
4. D. The colonies gained seats in Parliament
What did the Proclamation of 1763 do?
1. A. Taxed tea imported into the colonies
2. B. Banned colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains
3. C. Required colonists to house British soldiers
4. D. Closed Boston Harbor to all ships
What did colonists mean by "No taxation without representation"?
1. A. They should not pay any taxes at all
2. B. They should not be taxed by a Parliament they did not elect
3. C. They wanted to tax British merchants instead
4. D. They wanted to elect the British king
The French and Indian War was fought mainly over control of what?
1. A. Fishing rights near England
2. B. Sugar islands in the Pacific
3. C. Trade routes to India
4. D. Land in the Ohio River Valley
What did the Stamp Act of 1765 tax?
1. A. Glass, lead, and paint from Britain
2. B. Printed materials such as newspapers and legal papers
3. C. Sugar and molasses from the West Indies
4. D. Tea brought into colonial ports
Who was the main author of the Declaration of Independence?
1. A. Benjamin Franklin
2. B. John Adams
3. C. Thomas Jefferson
4. D. George Washington
Where did British General Cornwallis surrender in 1781?
1. A. Bunker Hill
2. B. Trenton
3. C. Yorktown
4. D. Saratoga
What was one advantage the Patriots had during the war?
1. A. They were fighting on their own land
2. B. They had the world's strongest navy
3. C. They had more money for supplies
4. D. They had more trained soldiers
What did the Treaty of Paris of 1783 do?
1. A. Sold Louisiana to the United States
2. B. Started the French and Indian War
3. C. Recognized American independence
4. D. Created the U.S. Constitution
Who were the Loyalists?
1. A. Colonists who stayed loyal to Britain
2. B. German soldiers hired by Britain
3. C. French soldiers who helped the Americans
4. D. Colonists who fought for independence
Who led the expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase?
1. A. Zebulon Pike and John Frémont
2. B. Lewis and Clark
3. C. Marquette and Joliet
4. D. Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett
What did the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 do?
1. A. Allowed slavery throughout the Northwest Territory
2. B. Set up a process for territories to become states
3. C. Created the first national bank
4. D. Gave the Northwest Territory back to Britain
What did Shays' Rebellion show about the Articles of Confederation?
1. A. The national government was too powerful
2. B. The national government was too weak to keep order
3. C. The president had too much control over the army
4. D. The states had no power to raise militias
In his Farewell Address, Washington warned against what?
1. A. Trading with European nations
2. B. Building a national navy
3. C. Settling lands in the west
4. D. Permanent alliances with foreign nations
What was the effect of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803?
1. A. It ended the War of 1812
2. B. It roughly doubled the size of the United States
3. C. It gave Florida to the United States
4. D. It made Texas part of the United States
Who made up much of the early workforce in the Lowell textile mills?
1. A. Soldiers returning from war
2. B. Children from European orphanages
3. C. Young women from New England farms
4. D. Enslaved workers from the South
What did the U.S. gain from the Mexican-American War?
1. A. California and much of the Southwest
2. B. Florida and the Gulf Coast
3. C. Oregon and Washington
4. D. Alaska and Hawaii
Frederick Douglass is best known as what?
1. A. The inventor of the steel plow
2. B. A general in the Mexican-American War
3. C. A leader of the Gold Rush
4. D. A formerly enslaved abolitionist speaker and writer
What did the Monroe Doctrine (1823) warn European nations against?
1. A. Trading with the United States
2. B. Building navies in the Atlantic
3. C. Settling in Asia and Africa
4. D. Creating new colonies in the Americas
What was the Trail of Tears?
1. A. The forced removal of the Cherokee to Indian Territory
2. B. A trade route from Missouri to Santa Fe
3. C. A road built across the Appalachians
4. D. A path used by the Underground Railroad
Why is the Battle of Gettysburg (1863) considered a turning point?
1. A. It ended Lee's last major invasion of the North
2. B. It ended with the Confederacy's surrender
3. C. It gave the Union control of the Mississippi
4. D. It was the first battle of the war
Where were the first shots of the Civil War fired in April 1861?
1. A. Bull Run
2. B. Antietam
3. C. Gettysburg
4. D. Fort Sumter
Which event led South Carolina to secede in December 1860?
1. A. The Battle of Gettysburg
2. B. The election of Abraham Lincoln
3. C. The Emancipation Proclamation
4. D. The attack on Fort Sumter
Which part of the Compromise of 1850 angered many Northerners?
1. A. Admitting California as a free state
2. B. Ending the slave trade in Washington, D.C.
3. C. A stricter Fugitive Slave Act
4. D. Settling the Texas border
What did the Supreme Court rule in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)?
1. A. Slavery was illegal in all territories
2. B. Enslaved people were not citizens and could not sue
3. C. Enslaved people who reached the North were free
4. D. Kansas must become a free state

Part 2: Written Response

How were the Patriots able to defeat the more powerful British army? Give at least two reasons.
Evaluate how successful Reconstruction was. Use evidence from the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments and the end of Reconstruction.

Answer Key — U.S. History to 1877 (Grade 8) Midterm — Full-Course Review

B — To practice their religion freely The Pilgrims were Separatists seeking freedom to worship in their own way.
B — The forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic The Middle Passage was the brutal Atlantic crossing in the triangular trade.
A — Quakers Penn, a Quaker, created a colony with religious tolerance; Maryland was the Catholic refuge.
C — Tobacco John Rolfe's tobacco became a profitable export that kept Virginia going.
A — It was the first elected representative assembly in the English colonies The House of Burgesses began the tradition of representative government in America.
A — Boston Harbor was closed Britain closed Boston Harbor in 1774 to punish the Boston Tea Party.
B — Banned colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains Britain drew a line to reduce conflict with Native Americans, angering colonists.
B — They should not be taxed by a Parliament they did not elect Colonists argued only their own elected assemblies could tax them.
D — Land in the Ohio River Valley Britain and France fought from 1754 to 1763 for control of North American land.
B — Printed materials such as newspapers and legal papers The Stamp Act was a direct tax on paper documents and printed items.
C — Thomas Jefferson Jefferson drafted the Declaration, which Congress adopted on July 4, 1776.
C — Yorktown American and French forces trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia.
A — They were fighting on their own land Patriots knew the land and were defending their homes.
C — Recognized American independence Britain recognized the United States and set its western border at the Mississippi River.
A — Colonists who stayed loyal to Britain Loyalists, or Tories, supported the king during the Revolution.
B — Lewis and Clark Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored the territory from 1804 to 1806.
B — Set up a process for territories to become states It created a path to statehood and banned slavery in the Northwest Territory.
B — The national government was too weak to keep order Farmers' 1786-1787 uprising showed the weak government could not respond well.
D — Permanent alliances with foreign nations Washington advised avoiding permanent foreign alliances and warned about political parties.
B — It roughly doubled the size of the United States The United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million.
C — Young women from New England farms The Lowell mills hired young farm women, called mill girls.
A — California and much of the Southwest The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) gave the U.S. the Mexican Cession.
D — A formerly enslaved abolitionist speaker and writer Douglass escaped slavery and became a powerful voice against it.
D — Creating new colonies in the Americas Monroe said the Americas were closed to new European colonization.
A — The forced removal of the Cherokee to Indian Territory After the Indian Removal Act, thousands of Cherokee died on the forced march west.
A — It ended Lee's last major invasion of the North Lee's defeat in Pennsylvania meant the Confederacy never seriously invaded the North again.
D — Fort Sumter Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
B — The election of Abraham Lincoln Southern states feared Lincoln would limit slavery, and South Carolina left first.
C — A stricter Fugitive Slave Act The law required Northerners to help return people who escaped slavery.
B — Enslaved people were not citizens and could not sue The ruling also said Congress could not ban slavery in the territories.

Written Response — Look-Fors

Home ground, French alliance (after Saratoga), Washington's leadership, long supply lines for Britain, motivation; key battles.
Amendments ended slavery, granted citizenship/equal protection, voting rights; Freedmen's Bureau; Black Codes, violence, 1877 withdrawal; balanced judgment.

U.S. History to 1877 (Grade 8) Midterm — Full-Course Review

Part 1: Multiple Choice

Part 2: Written Response

Written Response — Look-Fors

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