Texas State Standards for Social Studies: Grade 8

TX.113.24 (8.1) History: The student understands traditional historical points of reference in U.S. history through 1877.

8.1. (A) Identify the major eras in U.S. history through 1877 and describe their defining characteristics. 45
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.1. (A)

8.1. (B) Apply absolute and relative chronology through the sequencing of significant individuals, events, and time periods. 1
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.1. (B)

8.1. (C) Explain the significance of the following dates: 1607, 1776, 1787, 1803, and 1861-1865. 12
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.1. (C)

TX.113.24 (8.2) History: The student understands the causes of exploration and colonization eras.

8.2. (A) Identify reasons for European exploration and colonization of North America. 9
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.2. (A)

8.2. (B) Compare political, economic, and social reasons for establishment of the 13 colonies. 2
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.2. (B)

TX.113.24 (8.3) History: The student understands the foundations of representative government in the United States.

8.3. (A) Explain the reasons for the growth of representative government and institutions during the colonial period. 14
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.3. (A)

8.3. (B) Evaluate the importance of the Mayflower Compact, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, and the Virginia House of Burgesses to the growth of representative government. 5
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.3. (B)

8.3. (C) Describe how religion contributed to the growth of representative government in the American colonies. 2
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.3. (C)

TX.113.24 (8.4) History: The student understands significant political and economic issues of the revolutionary era.

8.4. (A) Analyze causes of the American Revolution, including mercantilism and British economic policies following the French and Indian War. 15
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.4. (A)

8.4. (B) Explain the roles played by significant individuals during the American Revolution, including Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, King George III, Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Paine, and George Washington. 9
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.4. (B)

8.4. (C) Explain the issues surrounding important events of the American Revolution, including declaring independence, writing the Articles of Confederation, fighting the battles of Lexington, Concord, Saratoga, and Yorktown, signing the Treaty of Paris. 21
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.4. (C)

8.4. (D) Analyze the issues of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, including major compromises and arguments for and against ratification. 17
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.4. (D)

TX.113.24 (8.5) History: The student understands the challenges confronted by the government and its leaders in the early years of the Republic.

8.5. (A) Describe major domestic problems faced by the leaders of the new Republic such as maintaining national security, creating a stable economic system, setting up the court system, and defining the authority of the central government. 21
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.5. (A)

8.5. (B) Summarize arguments regarding protective tariffs, taxation, and the banking system. 2
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.5. (B)

8.5. (C) Explain the origin and development of American political parties. 4
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.5. (C)

8.5. (D) Explain the causes of and issues surrounding important events of the War of 1812. 2
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.5. (D)

8.5. (E) Trace the foreign policies of Presidents Washington through Monroe and explain the impact of Washington's Farewell Address and the Monroe Doctrine. 13
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.5. (E)

8.5. (F) Explain the impact of the election of Andrew Jackson, including the beginning of the modern Democratic Party. 1
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.5. (F)

8.5. (G) Analyze federal and state Indian policies and the removal and resettlement of Cherokee Indians during the Jacksonian era. 5
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.5. (G)

TX.113.24 (8.6) History: The student understands westward expansion and its effects on the political, economic, and social development of the nation.

8.6. (A) Explain how the Northwest Ordinance established principles and procedures for orderly expansion of the United States. 11
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.6. (A)

8.6. (B) Explain the political, economic, and social roots of Manifest Destiny. 5
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.6. (B)

8.6. (C) Analyze the relationship between the concept of Manifest Destiny and the westward growth of the nation. 19
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.6. (C)

8.6. (D) Explain the major issues and events of the Mexican War and their impact on the United States. 3
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.6. (D)

8.6. (E) Identify areas that were acquired to form the United States. 2
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.6. (E)

TX.113.24 (8.7) History: The student understands how political, economic, and social factors led to the growth of sectionalism and the Civil War.

8.7. (A) Analyze the impact of tariff policies on sections of the United States before the Civil War. 10
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.7. (A)

8.7. (B) Compare the effects of political, economic, and social factors on slaves and free blacks. 28
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.7. (B)

8.7. (C) Analyze the impact of slavery on different sections of the United States. 38
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.7. (C)

8.7. (D) Compare the provisions and effects of congressional conflicts and compromises prior to the Civil War, including the roles of John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster. 5
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.7. (D)

TX.113.24 (8.8) History: The student understands individuals, issues, and events of the Civil War.

8.8. (A) Explain the roles played by significant individuals during the Civil War, including Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and Abraham Lincoln. 10
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.8. (A)

8.8. (B) Explain the issues surrounding significant events of the Civil War, including the firing on Fort Sumter, the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, the assassination of Lincoln, and Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. 29
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.8. (B)

8.8. (C) Analyze Abraham Lincoln's ideas about liberty, equality, union, and government as contained in his first and second inaugural addresses and the Gettysburg Address. 2
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.8. (C)

TX.113.24 (8.9) History: The student understands the effects of Reconstruction on the political, economic, and social life of the nation.

8.9. (A) Evaluate legislative reform programs of the Radical Reconstruction Congress and reconstructed state governments. 11
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.9. (A)

8.9. (B) Describe the economic difficulties faced by the United States during Reconstruction. 11
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.9. (B)

8.9. (C) Explain the social problems that faced the South during Reconstruction and evaluate their impact on different groups. 14
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.9. (C)

TX.113.24 (8.10) Geography: The student uses geographic tools to collect, analyze, and interpret data.

8.10. (A) Create thematic maps, graphs, charts, models, and databases representing various aspects of the United States. 22
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.10. (A)

8.10. (B) Pose and answer questions about geographic distributions and patterns shown on maps, graphs, charts, models, and databases. 23
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.10. (B)

TX.113.24 (8.11) Geography: The student understands the location and characteristics of places and regions of the United States, past and present.

8.11. (A) Locate places and regions of importance in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries. 11
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.11. (A)

8.11. (B) Compare places and regions of the United States in terms of physical and human characteristics. 2
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.11. (B)

8.11. (C) Analyze the effects of physical and human geographic factors on major historical and contemporary events in the United States. 12
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.11. (C)

TX.113.24 (8.12) Geography: The student understands the physical characteristics of the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries and how humans adapted to and modified the environment.

8.12. (A) Analyze how physical characteristics of the environment influenced population distribution, settlement patterns, and economic activities in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries. 10
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.12. (A)

8.12. (B) Describe the consequences of human modification of the physical environment of the United States. 60
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.12. (B)

8.12. (C) Describe how different immigrant groups interacted with the environment in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries. 27
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.12. (C)

TX.113.24 (8.13) Economics: The student understands why various sections of the United States developed different patterns of economic activity.

8.13. (A) Identify economic differences among different regions of the United States. 5
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.13. (A)

8.13. (B) Explain reasons for the development of the plantation system, the growth of the slave trade, and the spread of slavery. 7
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.13. (B)

8.13. (C) Analyze the causes and effects of economic differences among different regions of the United States at selected times in U.S. history. 25
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.13. (C)

TX.113.24 (8.14) Economics: The student understands how various economic forces resulted in the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century.

8.14. (A) Analyze the War of 1812 as a cause of economic changes in the nation. 1
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.14. (A)

8.14. (B) Identify the economic factors that brought about rapid industrialization and urbanization. 15
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.14. (B)

TX.113.24 (8.15) Economics: The student understands the origins and development of the free enterprise system in the United States.

8.15. (A) Explain why a free enterprise system of economics developed in the new nation. 4
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.15. (A)

8.15. (B) Describe the characteristics and the benefits of the U.S. free enterprise system during the 18th and 19th centuries. 4
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.15. (B)

TX.113.24 (8.16) Government: The student understands the American beliefs and principles reflected in the U.S. Constitution and other important historic documents.

8.16. (A) Identify the influence of ideas from historic documents including the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and selected anti-federalist writings on the U.S. system of government. 16
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.16. (A)

8.16. (B) Summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. 8
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.16. (B)

8.16. (C) Identify colonial grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence and explain how those grievances were addressed in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. 7
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.16. (C)

8.16. (D) Analyze how the U.S. Constitution reflects the principles of limited government, republicanism, checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, popular sovereignty, and individual rights. 73
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.16. (D)

TX.113.24 (8.17) Government: The student understands the process of changing the U.S. Constitution and the impact of amendments on American society.

8.17. (A) Summarize the purposes for and processes of changing the U.S. Constitution. 4
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.17. (A)

8.17. (B) Describe the impact of 19th-century amendments including the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments on life in the United States. 14
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.17. (B)

8.17. (C) Identify the origin of judicial review and analyze examples of congressional and presidential responses. 27
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.17. (C)

TX.113.24 (8.18) Government: The student understands the dynamic nature of the powers of the national government and state governments in a federal system.

8.18. (A) Analyze the arguments of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, including those of Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, James Madison, and George Mason. 4
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.18. (A)

8.18. (B) Describe historical conflicts arising over the issue of states' rights, including the Nullification Crisis and the Civil War. 10
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.18. (B)

TX.113.24 (8.19) Government: The student understands the impact of landmark Supreme Court cases.

8.19. (A) Summarize the issues, decisions, and significance of landmark Supreme Court cases including Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, and Gibbons v. Ogden. 22
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.19. (A)

8.19. (B) Evaluate the impact of selected landmark Supreme Court decisions including Dred Scott v. Sandford on life in the United States. 22
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.19. (B)

TX.113.24 (8.20) Citizenship: The student understands the rights and responsibilities of citizens of the United States.

8.20. (A) Define and give examples of unalienable rights. 9
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.20. (A)

8.20. (B) Summarize rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. 2
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.20. (B)

8.20. (C) Explain the importance of personal responsibilities such as accepting responsibility for one's behavior and supporting one's family. 8
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.20. (C)

8.20. (D) Identify examples of responsible citizenship, including obeying rules and laws, voting, and serving on juries. 15
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.20. (D)

8.20. (E) Summarize the criteria and explain the process for becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States. 8
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.20. (E)

8.20. (F) Explain how the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens reflect our national identity. 8
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.20. (F)

TX.113.24 (8.21) Citizenship: The student understands the importance of voluntary individual participation in the democratic process.

8.21. (A) Explain the role of significant individuals such as William Penn in the development of self-government in colonial America. 7
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.21. (A)

8.21. (B) Evaluate the contributions of the Founding Fathers as models of civic virtue. 23
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.21. (B)

8.21. (C) Identify reasons for and the impact of selected examples of civil disobedience in U.S. history such as Henry David Thoreau's refusal to pay a tax. 8
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.21. (C)

TX.113.24 (8.22) Citizenship: The student understands the importance of the expression of different points of view in a democratic society.

8.22. (A) Identify different points of view of political parties and interest groups on important historical and contemporary issues. 5
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.22. (A)

8.22. (B) Describe the importance of free speech and press in a democratic society. 1
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.22. (B)

8.22. (C) Summarize a historical event in which compromise resulted in a peaceful resolution. 8
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.22. (C)

TX.113.24 (8.23) Citizenship: The student understands the importance of effective leadership in a democratic society.

8.23. (A) Analyze the leadership qualities of elected and appointed leaders of the United States such as Abraham Lincoln, John Marshall, and George Washington. 4
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.23. (A)

8.23. (B) Describe the contributions of significant political, social, and military leaders of the United States such as Frederick Douglass, John Paul Jones, James Monroe, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. 2
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.23. (B)

TX.113.24 (8.24) Culture: The student understands the relationships between and among people from various groups, including racial, ethnic, and religious groups, during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.

8.24. (A) Identify selected racial, ethnic, and religious groups that settled in the United States and their reasons for immigration. 20
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.24. (A)

8.24. (B) Explain the relationship between urbanization and conflicts resulting from differences in religion, social class, and political beliefs. 33
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.24. (B)

8.24. (C) Identify ways conflicts between people from various racial, ethnic, and religious groups were resolved. 41
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.24. (C)

8.24. (D) Analyze the contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to our national identity. 9
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.24. (D)

8.24. (E) Identify the political, social, and economic contributions of women to American society. 17
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.24. (E)

TX.113.24 (8.25) Culture: The student understands the major reform movements of the 19th century.

8.25. (A) Describe the historical development of the abolitionist movement. 2
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.25. (A)

8.25. (B) Evaluate the impact of reform movements including public education, temperance, women's rights, prison reform, and care of the disabled. 18
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.25. (B)

TX.113.24 (8.26) Culture: The student understands the impact of religion on the American way of life.

8.26. (A) Trace the development of religious freedom in the United States. 2
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.26. (A)

8.26. (B) Describe religious influences on immigration and on social movements, including the impact of the first and second Great Awakenings. 44
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.26. (B)

8.26. (C) Analyze the impact of the first amendment guarantees of religious freedom on the American way of life. 3
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.26. (C)

TX.113.24 (8.27) Culture: The student understands the relationship between the arts and the times during which they were created.

8.27. (A) Describe developments in art, music, literature, drama, and other cultural activities in the history of the United States. 7
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.27. (A)

8.27. (B) Analyze the relationship between fine arts and continuity and change in the American way of life. 7
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.27. (B)

8.27. (C) Identify examples of American art, music, and literature that transcend American culture and convey universal themes. 15
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.27. (C)

TX.113.24 (8.28) Science, Technology, and Society: The student understands the impact of science and technology on the economic development of the United States.

8.28. (A) Explain the effects of technological and scientific innovations such as the steamboat, the cotton gin, and the Bessemer steel process. 6
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.28. (A)

8.28. (B) Analyze the impact of transportation systems on the growth, development, and urbanization of the United States. 17
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.28. (B)

8.28. (C) Analyze how technological innovations changed the way goods were manufactured and marketed, nationally and internationally. 7
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.28. (C)

8.28. (D) Explain how technological innovations led to rapid industrialization. 11
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.28. (D)

TX.113.24 (8.29) Science, Technology, and Society: The student understands the impact of scientific discoveries and technological innovations on daily life in the United States.

8.29. (A) Compare the effects of scientific discoveries and technological innovations that have influenced daily life in different periods in U.S. history. 31
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.29. (A)

8.29. (B) Describe how scientific ideas influenced technological developments during different periods in U.S. history. 90
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.29. (B)

8.29. (C) Identify examples of how industrialization changed life in the United States. 9
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.29. (C)

TX.113.24 (8.30) Social Studies Skills: The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of sources including electronic technology.

8.30. (A) Differentiate between, locate, and use primary and secondary sources such as computer software, databases, media and news services, biographies, interviews, and artifacts to acquire information about the United States. 16
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.30. (A)

8.30. (B) Analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions. 7
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.30. (B)

8.30. (C) Organize and interpret information from outlines, reports, databases, and visuals including graphs, charts, timelines, and maps. 6
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.30. (C)

8.30. (D) Identify points of view from the historical context surrounding an event and the frame of reference which influenced the participants. 1
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.30. (D)

8.30. (E) Support a point of view on a social studies issue or event. 1
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.30. (E)

8.30. (F) Identify bias in written, oral, and visual material. 1
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.30. (F)

8.30. (G) Evaluate the validity of a source based on language, corroboration with other sources, and information about the author. 1
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.30. (G)

8.30. (H) Use appropriate mathematical skills to interpret social studies information such as maps and graphs. 26
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.30. (H)

TX.113.24 (8.31) Social Studies Skills: The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms.

8.31. (A) Use social studies terminology correctly. 7
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.31. (A)

8.31. (B) Use standard grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation. 11
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.31. (B)

8.31. (C) Transfer information from one medium to another, including written to visual and statistical to written or visual, using computer software as appropriate. 11
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.31. (C)

8.31. (D) Create written, oral, and visual presentations of social studies information. 3
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.31. (D)

TX.113.24 (8.32) Social Studies Skills: The student uses problem-solving and decision-making skills, working independently and with others, in a variety of settings.

8.32. (A) Use a problem-solving process to identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options, consider advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution. 3
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.32. (A)

8.32. (B) Use a decision-making process to identify a situation that requires a decision, gather information, identify options, predict consequences, and take action to implement a decision. 5
Suggested Titles for Texas Social Studies State Standard 8.32. (B)