U.S. History to 1877 (Grade 8) Midterm — Units 5–6

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Grade 8 20 multiple choice + 1 written

Free printable U.S. History to 1877 midterm (Grade 8): 20 multiple-choice questions plus 1 written response covering 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: Expansion & Reform · Civil War & Reconstruction

Part 1: Multiple Choice

What was Manifest Destiny?
1. A. A treaty dividing Oregon with Britain
2. B. A plan to build railroads across the South
3. C. The belief that the U.S. should expand to the Pacific
4. D. A law ending slavery in western territories
Why was the Erie Canal important?
1. A. It connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
2. B. It linked the Mississippi River to Texas
3. C. It linked the Great Lakes to New York City by water
4. D. It carried cotton from Georgia to Boston
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
How did the cotton gin affect slavery?
1. A. It increased demand for enslaved labor
2. B. It caused Southern farmers to stop growing cotton
3. C. It ended the need for enslaved labor
4. D. It moved cotton farming to the North
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 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
What caused thousands of people to rush to California in 1849?
1. A. Free land for farming
2. B. A new railroad line
3. C. The end of slavery
4. D. The discovery of gold
What was the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 about?
1. A. Temperance in schools
2. B. Women's rights
3. C. Building canals
4. D. Ending the slave trade
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
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 did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
1. A. Made formerly enslaved people citizens
2. B. Declared enslaved people in Confederate-held areas free
3. C. Ended slavery in every U.S. state
4. D. Gave African American men the right to vote
What did the Missouri Compromise of 1820 do?
1. A. Banned slavery in all U.S. territories
2. B. Allowed Kansas to vote on slavery
3. C. Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state
4. D. Ended the slave trade with Africa
What did the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) allow?
1. A. Settlers to vote on whether to allow slavery
2. B. Nebraska to ban Native American settlement
3. C. Kansas to join the Union as a free state
4. D. Congress to end slavery in the South
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
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 helped bring Reconstruction to an end in 1877?
1. A. Federal troops were withdrawn from the South
2. B. The Confederacy was restored
3. C. Congress banned all voting in the South
4. D. The Fourteenth Amendment was repealed
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
Where did Robert E. Lee surrender to Ulysses S. Grant in April 1865?
1. A. Richmond
2. B. Atlanta
3. C. Vicksburg
4. D. Appomattox Court House
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

Part 2: Written Response

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 — Units 5–6

C — The belief that the U.S. should expand to the Pacific Many Americans believed expansion across the continent was their right and destiny.
C — It linked the Great Lakes to New York City by water The Erie Canal (1825) lowered shipping costs and helped New York City grow.
C — Young women from New England farms The Lowell mills hired young farm women, called mill girls.
A — It increased demand for enslaved labor Cotton became more profitable, so planters expanded slavery to grow more.
D — A formerly enslaved abolitionist speaker and writer Douglass escaped slavery and became a powerful voice against it.
A — California and much of the Southwest The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) gave the U.S. the Mexican Cession.
D — The discovery of gold Gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in 1848, leading to the 1849 Gold Rush.
B — Women's rights Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first women's rights convention.
A — The forced removal of the Cherokee to Indian Territory After the Indian Removal Act, thousands of Cherokee died on the forced march west.
D — Creating new colonies in the Americas Monroe said the Americas were closed to new European colonization.
B — Declared enslaved people in Confederate-held areas free It applied to areas in rebellion; the Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery everywhere.
C — Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state It kept the balance of free and slave states and drew the 36°30' line.
A — Settlers to vote on whether to allow slavery Popular sovereignty led to violence known as Bleeding Kansas.
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.
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.
A — Federal troops were withdrawn from the South The Compromise of 1877 removed federal troops, ending Reconstruction.
B — Enslaved people were not citizens and could not sue The ruling also said Congress could not ban slavery in the territories.
D — Appomattox Court House Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ended the war.
D — Fort Sumter Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.

Written Response — Look-Fors

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 — Units 5–6

Part 1: Multiple Choice

Part 2: Written Response

Written Response — Look-Fors

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