U.S. HISTORY FRAMEWORK

for the 2018 NATIONAL ASSESSMENT 

OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS

NATIONAL ASSESSMENT 

GOVERNING BOARD

U.S. Department of Education
THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT GOVERNING BOARD

The National Assessment Governing Board was created by Congress in 1988 as an independent, nonpartisan board to set policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The 

Nation’s Report Card. In overseeing The Nation’s Report Card, the Governing Board identifies subjects to 

be tested, determines the content and achievement levels for each assessment, approves all test questions, 

and takes steps to improve the reporting of results. The Governing Board is responsible for communicating 

NAEP results to a wide range of audiences.

MEMBERS

Honorable John Engler, Chair

Former Governor of Michigan

Former President

Business Roundtable

McLean, Virginia

Tonya Matthews, Vice Chair

President and CEO

Michigan Science Center

Detroit, Michigan

Dana K. Boyd

Principal

East Point Elementary School

El Paso, Texas

Alberto M. Carvalho

Superintendent

Miami-Dade County Public 

Schools

Miami, Florida

Gregory J. Cizek

Guy B. Phillips Distinguished 

Professor of Educational 

 Measurement and Evaluation

University of North Carolina

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Tyler W. Cramer

CEO/Manager

Remarc Associates, LLC

San Diego, California

Frank K. Fernandes

Principal

Kaimuki Middle School

Honolulu, Hawaii

Rebecca Gagnon

Chair

Minneapolis Board of Education

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Shannon Garrison

Fourth-Grade Teacher

Solano Avenue Elementary School

Los Angeles, California

Honorable James Geringer

Former Governor of Wyoming

Director of Policy and Public Sector 

Strategies

Environmental Systems Research 

Institute

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Andrew Dean Ho

Professor

Harvard Graduate School of 

Education

Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Carol Jago

Associate Director

California Reading and Literature 

Project at UCLA

Oak Park, Illinois

Terry Mazany

Former President and CEO

Chicago Community Trust

Chicago, Illinois

Dale Nowlin

Teacher and Mathematics 

 Department Chair

Bartholomew Consolidated School 

Corporation

Columbus, Indiana

Honorable Jeanette Nuñez

State Legislator

Florida House of Representatives, 

District 119

Miami, Florida

Joseph M. O’Keefe, S.J.

Fellow and Scholar of Residence

Fordham University Graduate 

School of Education

New York, New York

Honorable Alice H. Peisch

State Legislator

Massachusetts House of 

Representatives, 14th Norfolk 

District

Wellesley, Massachusetts

Honorable Beverly Perdue

Former Governor of North 

Carolina

Managing Director

Perdue Strategy Group

New Bern, North Carolina

B. Fielding Rolston

Chairman

Tennessee State Board of Education

Kingsport, Tennessee

Linda P. Rosen

Former Chief Executive Officer

Change the Equation

Washington, D.C.

Cary Sneider

Visiting Scholar

Portland State University

Portland, Oregon

Honorable Ken Wagner

Commissioner for Elementary and 

Secondary Education

Rhode Island Department of 

Education

Providence, Rhode Island

Chasidy White

Director of Strategic Initiatives

Office of the Superintendent

Alabama Department of Education

Montgomery, Alabama

Joe Willhoft

Consultant

Former Executive Director

Smarter Balanced Assessment 

Consortium

Tacoma, Washington

Ex-Officio Member

Thomas Brock

Commissioner for Education 

Research

Delegated Duties of the Director

Institute of Education Sciences

U.S. Department of Education

Washington, D.C.
Developed for the National Assessment Governing Board under 

contract number RN 91072001 by the Council of Chief State School 

Officers with the American Historical Association, the American 

Institutes for Research, the National Council for History Education, 

and the National Council for the Social Studies.
iv 

NATIONAL ASSESSMENT GOVERNING BOARD 

Honorable John Engler 

Chair 

Tonya Matthews

Vice Chair 

William Bushaw

Executive Director 

Lisa Stooksberry

Deputy Executive Director 

U.S. History Assessment Framework for the National Assessment of Educational Progress

Developed for the National Assessment Governing Board under contract 

number RN 91072001 by the Council of Chief State School Officers with the 

American Historical Association, American Institutes for Research, National 

Council for History Education, and National Council for the Social Studies. 

For further information, contact the National Assessment Governing Board:

800 N. Capitol St. NW

Suite 825

Washington, DC 20002

www.nagb.gov

January 2018

Publication Note

The 2018 NAEP U.S. History Framework is the same framework that was first 

developed for the 1994 NAEP U.S. History Assessment, including 2006 modifications to add clarifications and to delete outdated information. 

Continuity in the NAEP U.S. History Framework enables reporting of student 

achievement trends over time. This edition reflects updated dates and references 

to legislation, National Assessment Governing Board actions, and NAEP activities, including the 2018 transition to digital-based assessment.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary .................................................................................................vii

Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1

Chapter One: U.S. History in Elementary, Middle, 

and High Schools ..................................................................................................... 5

Nature of U.S. History ..................................................................................... 5

Chapter Two: The Framework for the 2018 NAEP 

U.S. History Assessment ........................................................................................ 9

Purpose of the Framework .............................................................................. 9

Elements of the Framework ............................................................................ 9

Content Matrix Outline ..................................................................................10

Themes of U.S. History ....................................................................................10

Periods of U.S. History .....................................................................................16

Ways of Knowing and Thinking About U.S. History ................................38

Chapter Three: Desired Attributes of the Assessment 

and Its Exercises and Items ....................................................................................43

Achievement Levels in U.S. History .............................................................45

Appendix A: NAEP U.S. History Framework Project— 

Staff, Committee Members, and Subcontractors ...........................................51

Appendix B: Released Items From the NAEP 

U.S. History Assessment ........................................................................................57
vi 
vii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In a democratic country such as the United States, the study 

of history is vital. All students need to know and understand the 

origins and evolution of their nation. They also need to understand 

the development of the nation’s democratic institutions and ideals 

so that they are prepared to take part knowledgeably, as citizens 

and voters, in shaping America’s future.

The framework in U.S. history for the 1994–2018 National 

Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was developed by 

the National Assessment Governing Board under a contract to the 

Council of Chief State School Officers in 1991–1992. The original 

framework project committees included a broad range of historians, educators, policymakers, business representatives, and other 

interested citizens. In addition, comments were received from 

several hundred individuals, including state and local educators, 

public officials, and parents.

The Governing Board has scheduled a national assessment 

in U.S. history for 2018 to gauge the knowledge and skills of the 

nation’s eighth-grade students. Due to limited funding, the Governing Board decided to conduct the assessment at only grade 8 for 

2018. This U.S. History Assessment will use the same framework 

as in 1994 to enable NAEP to report on trends in student achievement from 1994 to 2018.

In 2003, the Governing Board revised and updated the framework for the 2006 U.S. History Assessment. The framework 

document was revised to make it more useful to the general public, 

to delete outdated and extraneous information, and to include 

released NAEP questions to illustrate more clearly the content and 

format of the assessment. These relatively minor revisions to the 

framework will ensure that NAEP can maintain the U.S. history 
viii 

trend line of student achievement for grades 4, 8, and 12 in 1994, 

2001, 2006, and 2010, and for grade 8 in 2014 and 2018. The 

revisions in 2003 were made by the Governing Board’s Assessment 

Development Committee in consultation with an external panel 

of historians and teachers. The updated U.S. History Framework

was then approved by the Governing Board at its August 2003 

meeting.

Starting in 2018, questions and exercises will be presented in a 

digital platform, which provides additional opportunities to assess 

a range of knowledge and skills.

The framework reflects the conviction of the National Assessment Governing Board that any broadly acceptable examination in 

U.S. history must be a careful balance of:

• What is commonly taught and learned and what ought to 

be grasped by our students;

• The common and diverse strands that formed one nation 

from many groups and gave life to its motto, E pluribus 

unum;

• Accomplishments and failings in achieving the nation’s 

goals and ideals;

• Specific names, dates, and facts that students need to know 

to master concepts, generalizations, and intellectual skills.

This framework identifies the main ideas, major events, key 

individuals, and unifying themes of American history as a basis 

for preparing the 2018 assessment. The framework recognizes 

that U.S. history includes powerful ideas, common and diverse 

traditions, economic developments, technological and scientific 

innovations, philosophical debates, religious movements, and the 

interconnection of all these forces.

The teaching of history should introduce students to the 

process of historical inquiry. This process requires critical examination of evidence, thoughtful consideration of conflicting claims, 

and careful weighing of facts and hypotheses. Historical inquiry 
ix

provides experience in the kind of reasoned and informed decision-making that should characterize each citizen’s participation in 

our American democracy.

The framework organizes U.S. history into four central themes. 

Each theme is described briefly below and more fully in chapter 

two of the framework.

1. Change and Continuity in American Democracy: Ideas, 

Institutions, Events, Key Figures, and Controversies. The 

development of American political democracy from colonial 

times to the present. This includes basic principles and core 

civic ideas developed through the American Revolution, 

the U.S. Constitution, the Civil War, and the struggles over 

slavery and civil rights.

2. The Gathering and Interactions of Peoples, Cultures, and 

Ideas. The gathering of peoples and cultures of many countries, races, and religious traditions that have contributed to 

the development of the American heritage and American 

society.

3. Economic and Technological Changes and Their Relationship to Society, Ideas, and the Environment. The 

transformation of the American economy from rural frontier to industrial superpower and its impact on society, 

ideas, and the environment. This includes the influence of 

geography; the development of business and labor; and the 

impact of science and technology, a market economy, and 

urbanization.

4. The Changing Role of America in the World. The movement from isolation to worldwide responsibility. The evolution of relationships between the United States and other 

nations, including American foreign policy and the nation’s 

participation in world and regional wars. Students will 

consider the influence of geography, economic interests, and 

democratic ideals in evaluating the role of the United States 

in foreign affairs.
x 

The framework divides U.S. history into eight chronological 

periods:

• Beginnings to 1607

• Colonization, Settlement, and Communities (1607–1763)

• The Revolution and the New Nation (1763–1815)

• Expansion and Reform (1801–1861)

• Crisis of the Union: Civil War and Reconstruction 

(1850–1877)

• The Development of Modern America (1865–1920)

• Modern America and the World Wars (1914–1945)

• Contemporary America (1945 to the present)

As schools teach U.S. history, we hope they will foster a sense 

of excitement and pride and that students will gain a sense of who 

Americans are and what the idea of America is. Indeed, this nation 

was founded on a core of ideals—liberty, equality of opportunity, 

freedom of religion, self-government under law, and respect for 

individual worth—that continues to draw millions to our shores.

To understand these core democratic ideals, students should 

be familiar with the nation’s founding documents as well as major 

documents such as Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Second 

Inaugural Address, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms, and 

Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech at the Lincoln Memorial. These 

documents, and the ideals they express, serve as a force for unity 

and continue to stimulate reform.
1

INTRODUCTION

Since 1969, the National Assessment of Educational Progress 

(NAEP) has been the sole, ongoing national indicator of what students in the United States know and can do in major academic subjects. Over the years, NAEP has measured students’ achievement 

in many subjects including reading, mathematics, science, writing, 

geography, civics, and the arts. NAEP is a congressionally authorized program administered by the U.S. Department of Education’s 

National Center for Education Statistics. The National Assessment 

Governing Board sets policy for NAEP. Among the Governing 

Board’s congressionally mandated responsibilities are selecting 

subject areas to be assessed, developing assessment objectives and 

specifications, and determining appropriate student achievement 

levels.

Under provisions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 

2001 (Public Law 107–110), Congress authorized the Governing 

Board to continue its mandate for determining the content and 

format of NAEP assessments. While NCLB requires NAEP to 

assess reading and mathematics every 2 years in grades 4 and 8, the 

legislation permits the assessment of other subjects such as science, 

writing, U.S. history, civics, geography, and other areas, to the 

extent time and resources allow.

The Governing Board has scheduled a national assessment 

in U.S. history for 2018 to gauge the knowledge and skills of the 

nation’s eighth-grade students. Due to limited funding, the Board 

decided to conduct the assessment at only grade 8 for 2018. This 

U.S. History Assessment will use the same framework as in 1994 

to enable NAEP to report on trends in student achievement from 

1994 to 2018.

The following table describes NAEP assessments in history and 

the social sciences since 1969.
2 

Table 1. Previous NAEP assessments in history 

and the social sciences

Subjects Year(s) Notes 

Civics

U.S. History

Geography

2014 Civics—national data for grade 8; continues trend 

line from 1998, 2006, and 2010. U.S. history—

national data for grade 8; continues trend line 

from 1994 and 2001, 2006, and 2010.

Geography—national data for grade 8; continues 

trend line from 1994, 2001, and 2010.

Economics 2012 Economics—national data for grade 12 only; 

second economics assessment for NAEP.

Civics

U.S. History

Geography

2010 Civics—national data for grades 4, 8, and 12; 

continues trend line from 1998 and 2006. U.S. 

history—national data for grades 4, 8, and 12; 

continues trend line from 1994 and 2001, and 

2006.

Geography—national data for grades 4, 8, and 12; 

continues trend line from 1994 and 2001.

Civics

U.S. History

Economics 

2006 Civics—national data for grades 4, 8, and 12; 

continues trend line from 1998. U.S. history—

national data for grades 4, 8, and 12; continues 

trend line from 1994 and 2001. Economics—

national data for grade 12 only; first economics 

assessment for NAEP.

U.S. History 

Geography 

2001 National data at grades 4, 8, and 12. 

Civics 1998 National data at grades 4, 8, and 12; beginning of 

new trend line for civics assessment; special study 

on subsample of students at grades 4, 8, and 12 

using questions from 1988 civics assessment. 

U.S. History 

Geography 

1994 National data at grades 4, 8, and 12; beginning of 

new trend lines for these two assessments. 

Geography 1988 Special assessment at grade 12 and age 17, conducted with support from the National Geographic Society. 
3

Subjects Year(s) Notes 

Civics: U.S. 

Government and 

Politics 

1988 Grade 4 and age 9, grade 8 and age 13, and grade 

12 and age 17, with links back to parts of the 1976 

and 1982 citizenship assessments at ages 13 and 

17. 

U.S. History 1988 Grade 4 and age 9, grade 8 and age 13, and grade 

12 and age 17, with a special study linking results 

to those from 1986. 

U.S. History 

Literature 

1986 Grade 11 and age 17, conducted with the Educational Excellence Network and with support from 

the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

Citizenship 

Social Studies 

1981–82 Ages 9, 13, and 17. 

Social Studies 1975–76 Ages 9, 13, and 17. 

Citizenship 1975–76 Ages 9, 13, and 17. 

Social Studies 1971–72 Ages 9, 13, and 17. 

Publications related to previous NAEP assessments can be found at www.nces.ed.gov/

nationsreportcard.
4 
5

CHAPTER ONE

U.S. HISTORY IN ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, 

AND HIGH SCHOOLS

Nature of U.S. History

As young people study U.S. history, they gain insight into 

the American experience over time and discover how the past 

influences the present. They encounter new (and sometimes 

conflicting) ideas, compelling stories of people and events, diverse 

traditions, economic booms and busts, technological and scientific 

innovations, philosophical and political debates, religious movements and influences, and the complex interactions among these 

various forces. Most of all, they study people—individually and in 

groups—in their complex settings and in their complex reactions 

to the world around them.

The framework for the assessment of U.S. history in elementary, middle, and high schools is based on seven basic assumptions:

• First, historical study must strive to connect people and 

events across time and to establish a context that includes 

the political, social, cultural, economic, technological, philosophical, and religious dimensions of human activities.

• Second, the study of U.S. history must analyze change and 

continuity over time, explore the range of choices that have 

been available to people, and examine the events, people, 

and ideas that have been most significant in our nation’s 

development. The study of history introduces students to 
6 

people from all walks of life and to key events, major turning points, and significant records that reveal the American 

people’s beliefs, hopes, and ideas.

• Third, to illuminate the range and depth of the human 

experience, as well as differing perspectives, historical study 

must include famous people and ordinary individuals, and 

events on the grand scale and in everyday life, to convey 

the ideas and experiences that have shaped U.S. history. It 

must be informed by the humanities and social sciences, 

and it must draw on many forms of documentation such as 

original documents, speeches, cartoons, artifacts, photos, 

art, music, architecture, literature, drama, dance, popular 

culture, biographies, journals, folklore, historic sites and 

places, and oral histories.

• Fourth, history as a topic must include the analytical study 

of the nation’s political ideals of individual dignity, individual rights, civic virtue, democracy, the rule of law, equality 

of opportunity, liberty, popular sovereignty, justice, and the 

right to dissent. The study of U.S. history must show how 

and why these core civic ideas have influenced American 

society, while recognizing historical moments such as the 

Civil War, when these ideals were challenged or violated. 

The study of American history will (1) address the conflict 

between the founding proposition that “all men are created 

equal” in possession of certain rights, and the reality that 

enormous inequalities in legal protection and in political 

and economic opportunity were common and accepted 

practice throughout the world at the outset of the American experiment, (2) show how individuals and groups have 

worked since the founding to make the nation’s civic ideals 

real for all people, and (3) identify the institutions and laws 

that establish equality under law for everyone.

• Fifth, history has a spatial dimension—the places where 

human actions occur. The study of history must examine 
7

how events were influenced by geography, such as the locations of places and relationships within places. Aspects of the 

natural environment, such as climate and terrain, influence 

human behavior, and people affect the places they inhabit.

• Sixth, it is necessary to identify enduring themes that link 

people and events across time and space. People and events 

in history are not isolated and discrete; they are linked in 

many ways. The linkages are not static but are continuously 

evolving, and later generations will certainly perceive new 

relationships that are not evident today. Among the many 

possible themes of U.S. history, four have been selected for 

emphasis in the assessment:

1. Change and Continuity in American Democracy: Ideas, 

Institutions, Events, Key Figures, and Controversies

2. The Gathering and Interactions of Peoples, Cultures, and 

Ideas

3. Economic and Technological Changes and Their Relationship to Society, Ideas, and the Environment

4. The Changing Role of America in the World

• Seventh, students need historical reasoning skills to enable 

them to examine evidence, analyze cause and effect, and 

appreciate how complex and sometimes ambiguous the 

explanation of historical events can be. Historical study 

must encourage students to think and judge evidence 

responsibly, independently, imaginatively, and critically. In 

developing critical-thinking skills, students should engage in 

debates and consider alternative viewpoints or possibilities 

of historical movements and their causes.

In sum, students must know the specific facts of American history, be able to evaluate historical evidence, and understand change 

and continuity over time. For them, the nation’s past should be a 

body of knowledge as well as a source for understanding America’s 

promise, achievements, and shortcomings. They must be prepared 
8 

to examine the influence of the past on the present and to weigh 

evidence in order to reach generalizations and conclusions about 

how change and continuity have occurred.
9

CHAPTER TWO

THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE 2018 

NAEP U.S. HISTORY ASSESSMENT

Purpose of the Framework

The National Assessment Governing Board develops an assessment framework for each National Assessment of Educational 

Progress (NAEP) subject area. A framework defines the scope of 

the domain to be measured by delineating the knowledge and skills 

to be tested at each grade, the format of the NAEP assessment, 

and achievement-level descriptions. The framework will provide 

information to the public and test developers on three key aspects 

of the assessment:

• What should be measured at grades 4, 8, and 12;

• How the domain of content is most appropriately measured 

in a large-scale assessment;

• How much of the content domain, in terms of knowledge 

and skills, students should know and be able to do at the 

Basic, Proficient, and Advanced levels.

Elements of the Framework

This assessment framework has three components: Themes in 

U.S. History, Periods of U.S. History, and Ways of Knowing and 

Thinking About U.S. History. The themes and periods that structure the assessment are illustrated in the content matrix (table 2) 

and explained in the section that follows the matrix. The final 
10 

section of the chapter, Ways of Knowing and Thinking about U.S. 

History, defines the cognitive dimensions of the assessment.

Content Matrix Outline

The framework is defined by a content matrix outline. This 

matrix consists of the four major themes as observed in each of 

the eight chronological periods of American history. The four 

themes form the horizontal axis of the content matrix, while the 

eight periods of U.S. history form its vertical axis. The periods are a 

useful way to divide history into manageable segments. The themes 

establish important emphases within periods and ensure continuity 

from one era to another. Although the framework is based on one 

set of historical periods and issues, other perspectives, other issues, 

and other chronologies could easily have been identified.

The general questions posed for each theme and the specific 

questions developed for each period define a conceptual approach 

to U.S. history. The questions provide a way to think about U.S. 

history in elementary and secondary school and to define content 

and interpretive approaches to be used in creating assessment exercises for grades 4, 8, and 12. Appendix B provides publicly released 

test questions from the 1994 and 2001 NAEP U.S. history assessments. Additional NAEP questions, performance results, scoring 

criteria, and sample student responses can be found on the NAEP 

website at www.nationsreportcard.gov.

Themes of U.S. History

The four themes that will be the central focus of the assessment are defined through general questions. The theme questions 

establish the context for the people, events, ideas, movements, 

issues, and sources to be addressed in each historical period. Not 

all themes, however, will be examined in equal depth in all periods 

or at all grade levels because the thematic emphasis in any given 
11

period will depend on the major historical issues and developments 

of that period.

Theme 1. Change and Continuity in American Democracy:

Ideas, Institutions, Events, Key Figures, and Controversies

Defining Questions

• What political, legal, philosophical, and religious traditions 

did Americans draw on for their conceptions of democracy? 

Who were the leaders, what were their contributions, and 

what political and legal institutions developed? In what 

significant ways have these institutions continued? In what 

ways have they changed? What individuals and groups have 

been important in maintaining, testing, and changing these 

institutions?

Table 2. NAEP U.S. history content matrix outline

Themes

Periods

Change and 

 Continuity in 

American Democracy: Ideas, Institutions, Events, 

Key Figures, and 

Controversies

The Gathering 

and Interactions of Peoples, Cultures, 

and Ideas

Economic and 

 Technological 

Changes and Their 

 Relationship to 

Society, Ideas and 

the Environment

The Changing Role of 

America in 

the World

Beginnings to 1607 •

Colonization, Settlement, and 

Communities (1607–1763)

The Revolution and the New Nation 

(1763–1815)

•

Expansion and Reform (1801–1861) •

Crisis of the Union: Civil War and 

Reconstruction (1850–1877)

•

The Development of Modern America (1865–1920)

•

Modern America and the World 

Wars (1914–1945)

Contemporary America (1945 to 

the present)

Note: Not all of the themes will be addressed equally in every period.

 These themes will not be tested at grade 4 for each designated period.
12 

• Which democratic institutions and procedures made change 

possible? How does the Constitution permit compromise, 

continuity, and change? What landmark documents reflect 

change and continuity?

• What are the basic principles and critical assumptions of 

American constitutional government about the sources of 

political power and the rights of individuals? What core 

civic ideas (for example, individual rights and popular sovereignty) have influenced American society? What individuals 

and groups have maintained, tested, and influenced the 

evolution of these ideas? What primary documents include 

these commonly held civic ideas (for example, the Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Federalist 

Papers, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments, and “I Have a Dream” speech)? What 

landmark Supreme Court cases have had an important influence on our nation (for example, Brown v. Board of Education, Plessy v. Ferguson, Marbury v. Madison)? Why has 

the Constitution survived, and why has it become a model 

political framework? How have Americans responded to 

inherent tensions and conflicts of constitutional democracy, 

such as reconciling the desire for liberty with the need for 

order, majority rule with minority rights, and liberty with 

equality?

• How has the cultural diversity of American society shaped 

the nation’s civic culture, political institutions, and political 

practices? What individuals and groups played important 

roles in raising and responding to issues about diversity and 

unity in the American body politic? What major political 

controversies arose about the issues? Which controversies 

have been resolved? Which controversies have remained or 

re-emerged under other circumstances?
13

Theme 2. The Gathering and Interactions of Peoples, 

Cultures, and Ideas 

Defining Questions

• What racial, ethnic, religious, and national groups formed 

this nation? Why did people immigrate to the land that 

became the United States and why has the country continued to attract so many immigrants? What have been the 

patterns and conditions of this migration (for example, 

voluntarily in search of economic opportunity, religious 

freedom, and political refuge; involuntarily in bondage as 

slaves, or in a “nonfree” status such as indentured servants 

and contract laborers)? How has the racial, ethnic, and religious composition of the nation changed over time? What 

racial, ethnic, and religious tensions arose? What issues have 

been resolved? What issues remain? What were the patterns 

of settlement? How and why have these settlement patterns 

changed?

• What common and diverse cultural traditions did Americans develop? How did racial, ethnic, religious, and national 

groups contribute to the creation of American culture? 

What individuals and defining events contributed to these 

developments? What primary documents and historical 

sources—such as original documents, speeches, cartoons, 

artifacts, photos, art, music, architecture, literature, drama, 

dance, popular culture, biographies, journals, folklore, historic sites and places, and oral histories—reflect the development of American culture?

• What have been the roles of men and women in American 

society? How and why have gender roles changed over time?
14 

Theme 3. Economic and Technological Changes and Their 

Relationship to Society, Ideas, and the Environment

Defining Questions

• How did the United States develop from a rural, agricultural economy to an urban, industrialized superpower? 

What were the human and environmental benefits and 

costs of this development? How and why has the standard 

of living for most Americans changed over time? How have 

state and national governments responded to issues raised by 

economic developments and how have these governments 

participated in the economy?

• What ideas, values, and practices (for example, individual entrepreneurship, private ownership of property, 

laissez-faire economics, free enterprise, monopolies, and 

government regulation) contributed to the development 

of the American economic system? What types of labor 

systems developed and how did they influence society and 

the economy? How has the economic system, including its 

ideas and values, adapted to changing conditions and changing demands? What forms of prosperity and opportunity 

resulted? How have the work lives and economic opportunities of various groups differed (for example, men and 

women, racial groups, and people in different regions)?

• How have geography and economic and technological 

developments influenced society? How have these developments influenced how Americans make a living, where they 

live, their quality of life, and their natural environment?

• What have been the major American achievements and 

developments in science and technology? Who played 

key roles? What caused these developments? How have 

these developments influenced the economy, the environment, and the rest of the world? What have been the most 

important economic, scientific, and technological issues? 
15

How have these scientific and technological developments 

affected other areas of American society?

Theme 4. The Changing Role of America in the World

Defining Questions

• What were the causes and consequences of key events 

that marked American involvement in world affairs? The 

Spanish-American War? World War I? World War II? The 

Marshall Plan? The Cold War? Globalization?

• How have the geographical location and resources of the 

United States, its ideals, its interests, and its power influenced its role in the world? How and why has that role 

changed? Who played significant roles in international 

affairs at critical moments in American history? What is the 

role of public opinion in shaping foreign policy in a democracy? What primary documents and historical sources 

record the key developments?

• How have the interests, institutions, ideologies, individuals, 

power, and activities of other nations affected the United 

States?

• How have the interests, institutions, ideologies, individuals, 

power, and activities of the United States affected other 

nations?

• How has life in the United States been affected by the 

nation’s role in the world?

The distribution of the assessment exercise pool across historical themes for grades 4, 8, and 12 follows in table 3.
16 

Table 3. Distribution of the test questions across historical 

themes: grades 4, 8, and 12

Themes

Grade 

Levels 

Change and 

Continuity 

in American 

Democracy: 

Ideas, 

Institutions, 

Events, Key 

Figures, and 

Controversies 

The Gathering 

and Interactions of Peoples, Cultures, 

and Ideas 

Economic and 

Technological 

Changes and 

Their Relationship to Society, 

Ideas, and the 

Environment 

The Changing 

Role of 

 America in 

the World 

Grade 4 25% 35% 25% 15% 

Grade 8 30% 30% 20% 20% 

Grade 12 25% 25% 25% 25%

Periods of U.S. History

Because history is concerned with the experiences of people 

over time, it is critical to establish a basic chronological structure to 

organize it. Eight periods structure the assessment. A series of questions directly related to the four historical themes establishes the 

content and interpretive emphasis for each period. The questions 

set the parameters of U.S. history for the assessment and will guide 

the development of assessment exercises.

Period 1: Beginnings to 1607

Theme 1

• What were some of the political ideas, institutions, and 

practices of American Indians, Western Europeans, and 

West Africans before 1607? How did these ideas influence 

colonial American settlements?
17

Theme 2

• What were the family patterns, religious practices, political 

institutions, and artistic traditions of Western Europeans 

that principally influenced and shaped colonial American 

settlements? How did American Indian and West African 

traditions contribute to creating a new and uniquely American culture in the 17th and 18th centuries?

• What was “the Columbian exchange”? How did it affect 

societies and cultures worldwide?

• Why did Europeans explore and settle in the Western Hemisphere? Who were the explorers? What were their motivations? How did geographical factors influence their routes?

• What historical sources provide insights into the exchange?

Theme 3

• How did Europeans, American Indians, and West Africans 

live and make a living on the eve of Columbus’ voyage?

• What were the economic and trading relationships among 

Europe, Asia, and Africa before Columbus’ voyage? How 

did these relationships change with the beginning of 

trans-Atlantic trade?

• How did European inventions and technological developments (particularly in navigation and armament) lead to 

exploration and early conquest? What role did education 

and literacy play in spreading these technological developments? What individuals and groups contributed to these 

developments?

• What was the role of economic factors in exploration and 

the search for resources in the Western Hemisphere? What 

impact did exploration have on the economies of Europe, 

West Africa, and North America?

• What labor systems emerged? Why did the practice of 

slavery develop in the Western Hemisphere? How did it 
18 

compare with other forms of slavery that existed historically 

in Africa and other parts of the world?

Theme 4

• How did the quest for political and economic power 

among European nations cause rivalries in the Western 

Hemisphere?

• How did Europeans’ efforts to gain control in the Western 

Hemisphere affect the people of West Africa and the North 

American continent? How did these people respond?

Period 2: Colonization, Settlement, and Communities 

(1607–1763)

Theme 1

• How did various European colonists reshape their political, 

legal, and philosophical traditions to fit their circumstances 

in North America? What new political traditions evolved? 

In the English colonies, what practices of self-government 

and law developed?

• How did various American Indian groups view and respond 

to European colonization?

• How did ideas about individual rights, popular sovereignty, 

and law develop in different parts of the British, Spanish, 

Dutch, and French colonies?

• What conceptions of law, government, literacy, education, 

and human nature did English colonists bring with them? 

What was the significance of the Mayflower Compact?

Theme 2

• Who were the colonists? What were the reasons they 

came? Where did they settle? What social and cultural 
19

organizations did they create? What were the conflicts and 

cooperative efforts among and within these groups? What 

was the impact on American Indians?

• What motives did the colonists’ financial backers have in 

settling North America? How did the English, French, 

Dutch, and Spanish colonies differ?

• What was daily life like in colonial America for the yeoman 

farmers, merchants, artisans, planters, indentured servants, 

slaves, and American Indians? How was life different and 

how was it similar in New England, the mid-Atlantic, 

the South, the West, the Spanish Southwest, and French 

Louisiana?

• How did diverse religious beliefs and practices affect life in 

the English colonies and lead to denominationalism and 

religious freedom?

Theme 3

• What ideas, individuals, motives, practices, and values 

influenced economic development in the different regions 

of colonial North America and the West Indies?

• What were the roles of private property, communal landholding, the fur trade, the “Protestant work ethic,” the 

plantation system, merchants, small farmers, indentured 

servants, and slaves in the economies that arose in the European colonies?

• What roles did women play in colonial economies?

• How did indentured servitude differ from chattel slavery? 

Why did slavery come to mean racial or black slavery?

• In what ways did slavery in the Americas differ from slavery 

in Africa, ancient Greece and Rome, or in other places and 

times?
20 

Theme 4

• Why did European nations contend for control of North 

America? What were the trade routes? What was the extent 

of each nation’s empire by 1763?

• What kinds of relationships, alliances, and conflicts developed among American Indian societies, European countries, 

and settlers?

• What were the causes and results of the French and Indian 

War of 1754–63? What was its counterpart in Europe?

• Why did English language, culture, ideas, and institutions 

become dominant in the colonies?

Period 3: The Revolution and the New Nation (1763–1815)

Theme 1

• What ideas about the nature of liberty, power, and “natural 

rights” contributed to the colonists’ decision to declare their 

independence? What were the sources of these ideas?

• What British policies led to the revolt? What was the 

American response to these events? What were the most 

important turning points in the Revolution? Why was the 

Revolution successful?

• In what ways have the ideas embodied in the Declaration of 

Independence served as fundamental and enduring ideas of 

American political life?

• What were the political debates regarding independence 

and the creation of new state governments and a national 

government? Who supported what positions?

• Who were the leaders of the American Revolution? What 

was the role and what was the importance of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and others 

in the revolutionary generation? What ideas about government, sources of political power, rights of individuals, and 
21

political participation are specified in the Declaration of 

Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Northwest Ordinance, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights? 

How did the ideas in these documents contribute to a common civic culture?

• What factors and events, such as problems of the Articles of 

Confederation and Shays’ Rebellion, led to the Constitutional Convention? Who were the participants? What key 

issues did they debate? What major compromises did they 

make to create the Constitution of 1787?

• What are the most important features of the Constitution? 

How did it differ from the Articles of Confederation? How 

have its core civic ideas of individual rights, equal justice 

under law, and popular sovereignty become the basis for 

the nation’s common political culture? Why did it become 

recognized as a model political framework? How has it sustained aspirations for individual freedom and dignity, here 

and in other nations, for more than 200 years?

• How does the ratification of the Bill of Rights illustrate the 

idea of compromise and change that has been a basic principle of American constitutional government?

• What political and legal institutions were created by the 

Constitution? How was power distributed among the 

branches of the federal government and between federal and 

state governments?

• How and why did issues such as slavery, the rights of individuals, the power of the states, and the nature of federalism 

and republicanism divide Americans? How did the Constitution provide avenues for addressing these issues?

• Why did political parties arise (for example, Federalists, 

Democrats, and Republicans)? How did the party system 

influence the development of democracy? What was the 

role and importance of George Washington? Why was the 

peaceful transfer of power following Jefferson’s election such 

a landmark event in history?
22 

• How did John Marshall establish as a principle of constitutional government the judicial review by the Supreme Court 

of acts of state and federal governments? What does this 

mean today?

Theme 2

• What were the various roles of American Indians, African 

Americans, and men and women from different social and 

economic levels in the Revolution? What role did Loyalists 

play in the Revolution?

• How did revolutionary rhetoric about equality and civic 

virtue produce rising expectations for women, slaves, free 

blacks, and nonproperty-owning men?

• What ideas, beliefs, and values emerged to create a national 

culture? How did that culture compare and contrast with 

regional cultures in the United States and to the cultural 

traditions of the Spanish borderlands (Texas, Arizona, New 

Mexico, California, and Florida)?

• What reforms and improvements were sought for women, 

African Americans, and American Indians in the new nation 

in response to new concepts of liberty as they emerged 

during the American Revolution? How did their lack of 

political power influence the strategies and successes of 

reformers?

Theme 3

• How did colonial economic growth interact with the British 

mercantile and American Indian economic systems?

• What economic factors contributed to the colonists’ decision to declare their independence?

• What were the effects of the Revolution on economic development and institutions?
23

• What ideas, values, and practices caused the HamiltonianJeffersonian debate over the formation and direction of the 

nation’s economy? What were the results?

Theme 4

• What were the contributions of other nations to America’s 

victory in the Revolution?

• In what ways did the American Revolution and the establishment of the United States influence people in other 

nations? How did these events reshape the image of America in other countries? What was the significance of George 

Washington’s Farewell Address?

• How did the French Revolution affect American domestic 

and foreign policy?

Period 4: Expansion and Reform (1801–1861)

Theme 1

• Why did the nation expand across the Appalachian Mountains to the Pacific coast? What ideas about democracy 

emerged? Why did the nation decide to add states and give 

them equal standing instead of creating colonies? What 

controversies arose about organizing territories and adding 

states to the union? How and to what extent were these 

controversies resolved?

• How did the American political culture develop? What procedures emerged for managing controversy and responding 

to changing political and social needs? Who played important roles in this process?

• How did Jefferson and Jackson change the power and 

practices of the presidency? What caused the rise of interestgroup politics?
24 

• How did the right to vote expand?

• How did reform movements challenge assumptions about 

slavery, women’s rights, qualifications for citizenship and the 

right to vote, and the rights of American Indians?

• How did reform movements change political practices, the 

rights of individuals, and the meaning of American constitutional democracy?

• How did landmark Supreme Court decisions affect the 

development of the legal system and constitutional government (for example, Marbury v. Madison and McCulloch v. 

Maryland)?

• What were the positions of the political parties and their 

leaders on economic development, territorial expansion, 

political participation, individual rights, states’ rights, 

slavery, and social reforms? What was the significance of the 

Lincoln-Douglas debates?

Theme 2

• What was distinctive about the new American culture? 

Who were the principal artistic and intellectual figures (for 

example, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, 

Henry David Thoreau, Edgar Allan Poe)? What were their 

contributions? How did the new culture draw on, reject, 

and compare with European and British culture?

• What ideas, traditions, and traits (such as individualism and 

the belief in the human capacity to solve problems) came to 

define the American character?

• What were the characteristics of American Indian and 

Southwest-Hispanic cultures? How did African Americans 

develop unique cultures in response to slavery? How did 

free African Americans, especially in the North, develop 

their own institutions and actively seek the abolition of slavery? How did the cultures of American Indians, Hispanics, 

and African Americans adapt and survive?
25

• What groups (such as the Germans and Irish) immigrated to 

the United States during this period? Why did they come? 

Where did they settle? What impact did they have on the 

national culture as they adapted to the American lifestyle?

• How did religious revivalism and the idea of human perfectibility contribute to many reform movements? What was 

the role of women in revivalism and reform?

• What ideas about education emerged, what institutions 

were created, and how did the increased emphasis on education influence society?

Theme 3

• How did geographical factors, technological innovations, 

individual inventors, and entrepreneurialism contribute to 

rapid economic growth and important economic developments such as the specialization and division of labor, 

the manufacturing system, the westward movement, “King 

Cotton,” and the expansion of slavery? What were the costs 

and benefits of these economic developments?

• Why did many people experience growing prosperity? How 

did their prosperity influence society?

• How did the growth of the factory system affect living conditions, working conditions, and where people lived?

• How did government subsidies, the growth of a national 

transportation system, tariffs, immigrant labor, and foreign 

investments influence economic development?

Theme 4

• How and why did the United States expand its boundaries? 

What was the Monroe Doctrine? Who were the chief advocates of territorial expansion? What were the major events 

in territorial expansion? What was the idea of Manifest 

Destiny? Who were its supporters and opponents?
26 

• How did the United States influence revolutionary movements in the Caribbean and Latin America? How did those 

movements affect the United States?

• How did the United States attempt to prevent European 

nations from regaining control of Latin America? Who were 

the leaders?

Period 5: Crisis of the Union: Civil War and Reconstruction 

(1850–1877)

Theme 1

• What role did the process of compromise play in the disputes about slavery, the nature of the Union, individual 

rights, states’ rights, and the power of the federal government? What caused the outbreak of the Civil War? What 

were the roles of Webster, Clay, Calhoun, Douglas, Lincoln, 

and Seward? What were Lincoln’s positions on key issues 

during this period?

• How did the major political parties and leaders deal with 

controversies about abolition of slavery, constitutional 

rights, and economic development?

• What were the major events and turning points in the Civil 

War? What was the influence of civilian and military leaders 

(for example, Lincoln, Davis, Grant, and Lee)?

• What actions did African Americans take before, during, 

and after the war to secure their freedom and rights as 

citizens?

• How did the Civil War and Reconstruction change conceptions of the Union and the power of the federal government? What were the influences of Lincoln’s presidency?

• What primary sources exemplify the key ideas and issues of 

this period (for example, the Gettysburg Address, Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, 
27

“Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “Bonnie Blue Flag,” and 

“Dixie”)?

• How was the U.S. Constitution changed after the Civil War 

(for example, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments)? How 

did the changes affect democratic ideas and practices and 

contribute to achieving democratic ideals? How did decisions by the Supreme Court undermine the effectiveness of 

these amendments?

• What were the goals of radical and moderate reconstructionists? How and why did they succeed and fail?

Theme 2

• How did the social and cultural traditions of the prewar 

North and South differ?

• What was the role of religion in the debate over slavery?

• In what ways did the Civil War and Reconstruction challenge earlier ideas and alter relations between races, classes, 

and genders?

• What individuals and groups played significant roles in the 

Civil War and Reconstruction?

• How did post-bellum black communities differ from slave 

and antebellum free black communities?

Theme 3

• How did slavery as an economic system affect the economy 

and the social and class systems in the North, the South, and 

the West?

• How did the economic strengths and weaknesses of each 

side affect the outcome of the Civil War?

• What scientific and technological developments affected the 

economy, the Civil War, and Reconstruction?

• How did Reconstruction change the economic life of the 

South?
28 

Theme 4

• How did Union and Confederate diplomacy affect the Civil 

War?

• In what ways did other nations influence the course and 

outcome of the Civil War?

• How did the Civil War affect Europe, Latin America, and 

American Indian nations?

• How did the Civil War and Reconstruction influence the 

nation’s image in other countries?

Period 6: The Development of Modern America (1865–1920)

Theme 1

• How did the movements of populism and progressivism 

lead to changes in basic assumptions about the practice of 

democracy? What led to the 16th Amendment?

• Who were the leaders in these reform efforts? How did they 

affect events?

• What gains and losses in individual rights resulted (for 

example, suffrage)? How did these changes relate to other 

reform efforts? Who was left out of these reform efforts?

• How did the role of government change in relation to 

business and labor? What were the issues and how were they 

resolved?

• What groups came to the United States (for example, Italians, Jews, Russians, and Poles)? Why did they come?

• What was the debate over American ownership of colonies 

after the Spanish-American War and what was the influence 

of this debate on the nature of American government?
29

Theme 2

• What was the concept of social Darwinism? How was it 

used by both liberals and conservatives?

• How did westward expansion and the 19th-century belief in 

progress affect American ideas and society? Who advocated 

westward expansion? Who advocated social change and 

what changes did they advocate?

• What was the impact of westward expansion on American Indian and Hispanic societies? How did these groups 

respond?

• What was the influence of Mexican culture on the 

Southwest?

• What factors influenced immigration? How did the image 

of America as a land of opportunity develop? How did 

European immigration patterns change? What was the experience of newly arriving groups such as the Swedes, Norwegians, Jews, Poles, Russians, and Italians? What was the 

influence of European immigrants on the United States?

• Why did Asians immigrate to the United States? What were 

their experiences after their arrival?

• How did the forces of industrialization, immigration, 

technology, and urbanization change popular culture, the 

definitions of “What is American?,” and family life?

• Why and how did public education develop and expand?

• How did women respond to the opportunities and problems produced by urbanization and industrialization?

Theme 3

• What accounts for the surging growth of the American 

economy in this era? What were the main features of industrialization, and what were the benefits and costs of this 

economic development?
30 

• What basic assumptions define socialism and communism? 

What were their followers’ critiques of the industrial economy? What was the economic critique of these approaches 

to economic organization? What influence did these philosophies have on the American economy?

• Who were the leaders of industrialization? What were their 

roles? What was their impact on society?

• How did American industrial achievements and developments influence the rest of the world? How did industrialization in other countries affect the United States?

• How did the American labor movement develop? Who 

were its leaders? What were its goals?

• What were major conflicts between big business and labor? 

What was the role of the federal government in resolving 

such disputes?

• What was the influence of increased regulation on business?

• Who were the innovators? What major scientific and 

technological achievements and developments influenced 

industrialization? Discuss the importance of Thomas Alva 

Edison, the Wright brothers, and other inventors and pioneers of technology.

• How were Americans’ work habits, living conditions, and 

attitudes shaped by industrialization and urbanization?

• How did economic growth and industrialization affect 

the environment? What were the goals of the early 

environmentalists?

• How was agriculture affected by technological development? How did it contribute to industrialization and 

urbanization?

Theme 4

• Why did the United States expand its role in world affairs in 

the late 19th and early 20th centuries?

• Who were the champions and critics of expansion?
31

• In what ways did the United States expand its territory, its 

diplomatic importance, and its military power?

• In what ways did other nations respond to the expanding 

American role in world affairs?

Period 7: Modern America and the World Wars (1914–1945)

Theme 1

• Why did the United States decide to enter the First World 

War? What were the major turning points in this war? Who 

were the leaders (Woodrow Wilson, Kaiser Wilhelm II, 

etc.)? What happened in the First World War?

• How did politics in the 1920s reflect both the advancement 

and the retreat of important democratic practices?

• Why was the Constitution amended to ban the sale/consumption of alcohol? Who supported Prohibition? Why 

was the amendment repealed?

• How did women’s suffrage become enacted as an amendment to the Constitution? Who were the leaders of the 

women’s suffrage movement (Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth 

Cady Stanton, Carrie Chapman Catt)? Why did some people oppose women’s suffrage?

• How did the Depression affect American politics? How 

did the Depression change assumptions about the nature of 

federalism and the role of government?

• How did Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation 

change the role of the federal government in relation to 

social welfare and individual rights? Which new agencies 

were created and which of them became a lasting part of 

American government?

• What were the key events in the Second World War (for 

example, Pearl Harbor, the rise of Nazism/Hitler, concentration camps, the Holocaust, the atomic bomb)? Who 
32 

were the leaders (Hitler, Stalin, Tojo, Mussolini, Churchill, 

Roosevelt, MacArthur, Eisenhower)? Why did the United 

States get involved in the Second World War?

• How did landmark Supreme Court decisions reflect changes 

in the nature of federalism, the rights of individuals, and 

the power and duties of government (for example, Gitlow v. 

New York, Near v. Minnesota, and National Labor Relations Board v. Jones and Laughlin)? Why did Franklin D. 

Roosevelt try to “pack” the Supreme Court?

Theme 2

• Who were the artistic and literary figures (for example, Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, John Steinbeck, 

Langston Hughes, and F. Scott Fitzgerald) that contributed to national culture and to distinct ethnic and regional 

cultures? How did World War I, the Depression, the Dust 

Bowl, and World War II affect writers and artists?

• Why were restrictive immigration policies enacted? What 

groups were restricted and what groups were allowed? Why 

did large numbers of people continue to seek opportunities 

to immigrate to the United States?

• What were the social and cultural consequences of the 

immigration policies and internal migration? What developments defined the Roaring ’20s, the Harlem Renaissance, 

and the Depression era?

• What was the controversy over scientific views of evolution? 

What was the Scopes trial?

• What is the importance of the New Deal in American social 

reform? What were the key policies? Who developed the 

policies and who were the critics?

• How did technological innovations such as the radio, movies, and automobiles affect the lives of ordinary Americans?

• What was the immediate and long-range impact of World 

War II on the home front?
33

Theme 3

• What effect did wartime economies have on the composition of the American workforce and on the shift from a rural 

society to an urban society?

• How did wartime economic innovation and technological 

developments change the American economy and American 

society? Who were the innovators?

• What factors led to the growth of the American economy in 

the 1920s? To what extent was growing prosperity a reality 

for Americans from various levels of society?

• What caused the Depression? How did Herbert Hoover 

and Franklin D. Roosevelt respond? How did it alter ideas, 

values, and practices of the American economic system? 

What was its impact on the lives of ordinary Americans?

• How did the Depression and the New Deal influence economic theory and practice and the role of the government 

in the economy?

• How did workers and labor leaders shape the discussion of 

economic theory and employer policies and practices?

Theme 4

• How did events in Europe and Asia, such as the outbreak 

of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, the Nazis’ 

rise to power, the Axis alliance, the Nazi-Soviet pact, and 

Japanese territorial expansion influence U.S. history?

• How was life in the United States affected by expansion and 

participation in the First World War?

• What was the role of American democratic ideals in the 

nation’s entry into the First World War?

• What was the role of American democratic ideals in the 

nation’s entry into the Second World War? What was the 

relationship between the United States and the USSR 

during the war? Why did this relationship end after the war?
34 

• How did isolationism influence American foreign policy 

between 1914 and 1945?

• What roles did national leaders (for example, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Woodrow Wilson, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, 

Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. 

Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, and Hideki Tojo) play in 

shaping military and foreign policy?

• Why did some Americans oppose involvement in the First 

and Second World Wars?

• How did U.S. policy and activities in the peacemaking 

process compare after each war? Why did the failure to solve 

problems after the First World War lay the groundwork for 

another war? How did U.S. policy after the Second World 

War differ from its policy after the First World War?

• What international alliances and agreements resulted from 

the wars? What were the goals of the League of Nations and 

the United Nations? Why did the League of Nations fail?

Period 8: Contemporary America (1945 to the present)

Theme 1

• How have the ideas of the founding period about the nature 

of government, liberty, and sources of political power been 

maintained and changed? Why do the important core civic 

ideas of individual rights, equal rights under law, and popular sovereignty continue to be forces in American society?

• How did the Second World War affect the movement for 

racial equality?

• What political issues have been most significant in contemporary America (for example, abortion; affirmative action; 

anti-war protests; civil liberties; civil rights for minorities, 

women, and those with disabilities; environmentalism; 

national security; reducing government regulation and 
35

taxes; and terrorism)? How have issues and controversies 

been resolved in the American democratic political system?

• How did Harry Truman respond to Soviet military challenges in Europe and Greece? How did Dwight Eisenhower 

respond to McCarthyism and the Brown decision? How did 

John F. Kennedy respond to the Cuban missile crisis and 

to the civil rights movement? How did Lyndon B. Johnson 

attempt to balance the “Great Society” domestic reforms 

while expanding American involvement in the Vietnam 

War? How did Richard Nixon change the nation’s relations 

with China but lose his presidency because of Watergate? 

How did Ronald Reagan hasten the collapse of the Soviet 

Union? What caused George H.W. Bush to initiate Operation Desert Storm? What was the impact of welfare reform 

under the Clinton administration? What were the policies 

of George W. Bush following the September 11, 2001, 

terrorist attacks?

• How have landmark Supreme Court decisions affected 

constitutional rights, political controversies, and the relationships of individuals and groups (for example, Brown 

v. Board of Education, Gideon v. Wainwright, Abington 

School District v. Schempp, Reynolds v. Sims, Miranda v. 

Arizona, and Roe v. Wade)?

• What is the role of political leadership in contemporary 

politics? What individuals or groups have taken leadership 

roles? What strategies and political philosophies have they 

pursued to achieve power and resolve political issues?

Theme 2

• How has immigration policy changed in the contemporary 

United States? What groups are immigrating in large numbers (Hispanics, Asians)? Why?

• How has cultural diversity affected education, media, and 

popular culture?
36 

• How have the structures of families changed in contemporary American society?

• What has been the role of the media in contemporary 

America?

• How have the civil rights movement and the women’s movement affected individuals and American society?

• What is the influence of literary figures in contemporary 

America?

Theme 3

• What caused the general economic boom and growing prosperity in the post-Second World War era?

• What have been key technological innovations (for example, 

transistors, television, computers, jet airplanes, penicillin, 

plastics, the hydrogen bomb, and space exploration)? Who 

were the innovators? How have these innovations influenced society?

• How has the labor movement influenced the economy and 

society?

• How has technological change influenced work habits, the 

composition of the workforce, and economic productivity?

• How have mass production, the consumer economy, entrepreneurship, and changing economic conditions affected 

American society?

Theme 4

• How and why did the United States become the pre-eminent economic and military power in the world? How 

did U.S. participation in the First and Second World Wars 

influence the rest of the world? How and why did the Soviet 

Union collapse?
37

• What combination of ideology, economics, historical circumstances, individual viewpoints, and other factors shaped 

the history of the Cold War? What factors led to its end?

• What were the foreign policy objectives of the major world 

powers after the Second World War? What were the major 

events and conflicts (Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Berlin 

Airlift, Marshall Plan, Suez crisis, collapse of the USSR)? 

What led to these policies? What influence did domestic 

and foreign leaders have on these policies (for example, 

Harry Truman, John Foster Dulles, Joseph Stalin, Mao 

Zedong, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Fidel Castro, 

Nikita Khrushchev, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Golda 

Meir, Anwar Sadat, Margaret Thatcher, Lyndon Johnson, 

Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, George H.W. Bush, 

Bill Clinton, Colin Powell, and George W. Bush)?

• What were the main features of U.S. foreign policy during 

the Cold War era? Who advanced specific proposals?

• How did policies toward nations in Europe, Asia, Africa, 

Latin America, and the Middle East change during the Cold 

War era? What were the causes and results of the Korean 

War and the Vietnam War? In what ways did the Cold War 

strengthen or weaken American democracy, the American 

economy, and American military practices?

• What roles have public opinion and public protest played in 

shaping American foreign policy?

• How have the end of the Cold War, the dissolution of the 

Soviet Union, the democratic revolution in certain countries of Eastern Europe, and conflicts in the Middle East 

reshaped American foreign policy?

• What is the significance of the United Nations in the world 

today?

The distribution of the test questions across historical periods 

for grades 4, 8, and 12 appears in table 4.
38 

Ways of Knowing and Thinking About U.S. History

The study of United States history engages students’ minds 

with the facts and complexities that give insight into the development of the nation. Historical study requires specialized ways of 

knowing and thinking, habits of mind, and cognitive processes 

that typify historians’ approaches to the past. These habits of mind 

require almost simultaneous exercise of lower- and higher-order 

cognitive skills such as recall, analysis, judgment, application, and 

evaluation. This assessment identifies and defines the cognitive processes of historical knowing and thinking as follows:

Historical Knowledge and Perspective—Knowing and 

understanding people, events, concepts, themes, movements, 

contexts, and historical sources; sequencing events; recognizing 

multiple perspectives and seeing an era or movement through the 

eyes of different groups; and developing a general conceptualization of U.S. history.

Historical Analysis and Interpretation—Explaining issues, 

identifying historical patterns, establishing cause-and-effect 

relationships, finding value statements, establishing significance, 

applying historical knowledge, weighing evidence to draw sound 

conclusions, making defensible generalizations, and rendering 

insightful accounts of the past.

Table 4. Distribution of the exercise pool across historical 

periods: grades 4, 8, and 12

Periods

Grade 

Levels 

Beginnings–

1607 

1607–

1763 

1763–

1815 

1801–

1861 

1850–

1877 

1865–

1920 

1914–

1945 

1945 to 

Present 

Grade 4 20% 15% 15% 15% 10% 5% 5% 15% 

Grade 8 5% 10% 20% 15% 20% 10% 10% 10% 

Grade 12 5% 10% 15% 10% 10% 15% 15% 20% 
39

Perspective

The following diagram illustrates the interaction of these two 

domains in the process of knowing and thinking about history:

The NAEP U.S. history assessment will include a variety of 

items in both cognitive domains. Following is a description of the 

types of exercises developed to assess the cognitive domains. It is 

important to note that assessing higher-order thinking processes 

will require students to demonstrate that they have a fund of 

knowledge and understanding of historical periods and themes. 

Such higher-order questions will assess more than just skillful reading and fact-finding.

1. Exercises assessing Historical Knowledge and Perspective

will examine students’ ability to identify and define specific factual information, themes, movements, and general 

principles operating in U.S. history; to deduce meaning; and 

to comprehend patterns. These exercises will test students’ 

ability to:

• Name, recognize, list, identify, and give examples of people, 

places, events, concepts, and movements.

• Place specifics in a chronological framework and construct 

and label historical periods.

• Define historical themes and give examples of the ways 

themes relate to specific factual information.
40 

• Describe the past from the perspectives of various men and 

women of the time. Explain the perspective of an author of 

a primary source document. Describe different perspectives 

related to a historical issue or event.

• Summarize the contributions of individuals and groups to 

U.S. history; summarize the meaning of historical sources, 

such as original documents, speeches, cartoons, artifacts, 

photos, art, music, architecture, literature, drama, dance, 

popular culture, biographies, journals, folklore, historic sites 

and places, and oral history narratives; and link these people 

and sources to general themes.

2. Exercises assessing Historical Analysis and Interpretation

will examine students’ ability to distinguish value judgments in historical information, weigh evidence, synthesize 

information, apply knowledge, make judgments, formulate 

generalizations, and draw conclusions. Therefore, these exercises should ensure that the assessment tasks will address the 

whole range of historical thinking. These exercises will probe 

students’ ability to:

• Specify and explain cause-and-effect relationships and connect contemporary events to their origins in the past.

• Categorize information and develop strategies for organizing a large body of facts.

• Examine multiple causes of historical developments.

• Explain points of view, biases, and value statements in historical sources.

• Determine the significance of people, events, and historical 

sources.

• Weigh and judge different views of the past as advanced by 

historical figures themselves, historians, and present-day 

commentators and public figures.
41

• Demonstrate that the interpretation and meaning of the 

past are open to change as new information and perspectives 

emerge.

• Develop sound generalizations and defend these generalizations with persuasive arguments.

• Make comparisons and recognize the limitations of 

generalizations.

• Apply knowledge, draw conclusions, and support those 

conclusions with convincing evidence.

The distribution of the assessment exercise pool across the cognitive domains for grades 4, 8, and 12 appears in table 5.

Table 5. Distribution of the exercise pool across cognitive 

domains: grades 4, 8, and 12

Cognitive 

Domains

Grade Levels 

Historical Knowledge 

and Perspective 

Historical Analysis 

and Interpretation 

Grade 4 40% 60% 

Grade 8 35% 65% 

Grade 12 30% 70% 
42 
43

CHAPTER THREE

DESIRED ATTRIBUTES OF THE ASSESSMENT 

AND ITS EXERCISES AND ITEMS

Too often history has been perceived as dull memorization of 

an endless series of facts, events, and people long-since dead. By 

including thoughtful and profound questions, the committees 

hope to bring an aura of intellectual excitement to the assessment 

process. The assessment is intended to present a variety of questions that provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their 

grasp of specific detail while showing a deep understanding of 

the context of events and an ability to employ logical historical 

thought processes. The development of assessment items will take 

into account issues of fairness and the need to avoid cultural and 

socio-economic biases.

• New assessment options are available for use in the assessment. The National Assessment of Educational Progress 

(NAEP) assessments in the 1980s were confined largely 

to multiple-choice exercises, but more recent assessments 

have introduced open-ended and performance exercises. 

Therefore, the U.S. history assessment should include both 

the traditional selected-response and open-ended questions. 

Starting with the 2018 NAEP U.S. History Assessment, 

students will engage with both selected-response and openended items in a digital platform. This presents the opportunity for assessment tasks to include a range of multimedia 

features. In addition, special studies should examine various 
44 

types of innovative assessment approaches, including portfolios and cooperative learning activities.

• Selected-response questions should constitute no more than 

50 percent of the assessment. Such questions are desirable 

because they take up a relatively brief amount of assessment 

time, are easy to score, and allow for broad content coverage. 

Selected-response items, which includes multiple-choice 

questions, should represent not only recall and comprehension questions but also a large proportion of questions that 

require higher-level thinking skills.

• Open-ended questions, the other portion of the test, should 

concentrate on measuring students’ depth of learning in U.S. 

history. Both short-answer and extended-response exercises 

should require students to marshal a body of facts and 

organize and express their thoughts. Recognizing that many 

students do not perform well on test items requiring long 

written responses, the item development committee should 

strive to construct the questions so that students 

can demonstrate performance on some items without 

writing extensively.

• The study of history requires the use of a variety of 

resources. To reflect the richness of history and historical 

sources, the assessment should use a variety of stimulus 

materials appropriate to U.S. history. In both the selectedresponse and open-ended exercises, the stimulus materials 

should include copies of primary documents, graphs, 

political cartoons, charts, photographs, pictures, maps, and 

timelines. The types and complexity of materials should be 

appropriate for students at each grade level, but a variety of 

types should be used in varying grades. Stimulus materials 

and documents must be chosen with the understanding 

that many resources are not equally available to all schools in 

all areas.
45

Students will be asked to respond to stimulus materials in a 

variety of ways:

• Short answers—Responses to short-answer items may 

require lists, phrases, or sentences.

• Extended responses—Extended responses call on students 

to generate more developed arguments, analyses, or explanations and may require the creation of nontextual components such as charts, maps, graphs, and timelines.

Open-ended exercises should be scored according to rubrics 

that allow students to receive partial credit. Rubrics used to score 

extended-response exercises should be constructed to evaluate students’ historical knowledge and historical understanding, as well as 

analytical skills. Careful reading and clever thinking alone will not 

be sufficient to answer the extended-response questions. The item 

development panel should develop the scoring criteria prior to the 

pilot test of the assessment. Extensive training of skilled raters will 

be essential to ensure that the criteria are applied consistently and 

do not confound students’ historical knowledge and thinking with 

the ways in which they express themselves.

In constructing the assessment exercises, the item developers 

must ensure that the items are congruent with the framework and 

correspond to the NAEP achievement levels described below.

Achievement Levels in U.S. History

The assessment should be constructed to measure and report 

student performance according to three levels of achievement—

Basic, Proficient, and Advanced—as required by NAEP policy.

The following are the Governing Board-approved achievement 

levels for students participating in the 1994, 2001, 2006, 2010, 

2014, and 2018 NAEP U.S. history assessments. Due to limited 

funding, the Governing Board decided to conduct the assessment 

at only grade 8 for 2014 and 2018. In previous assessment years, 

the U.S. history assessment was administered at grades 4, 8, and 
46 

12. Within each grade, it is assumed that every higher achievement 

level incorporates and builds on the preceding levels.

Note that the levels suggested for fourth grade are based on the 

assumption that most students will not have had a formal course in 

U.S. history. 

Grade 4

Basic—Fourth-grade students performing at the Basic level 

should be able to identify and describe a few of the most familiar 

people, places, events, ideas, and documents in American history. 

They should be able to explain the reasons for celebrating most 

national holidays, have some familiarity with the geography of 

their own state and the United States, and be able to express in 

writing a few ideas about a familiar theme in American history.

Proficient—Fourth-grade students performing at the Proficient

level should be able to identify, describe, and comment on the 

significance of many historical people, places, ideas, events, and 

documents. They should be able to interpret information from a 

variety of sources, including texts, maps, pictures, and timelines. 

They should be able to construct a simple timeline from data. 

These students should recognize the role of invention and technological change in history. They should also recognize the ways in 

which geographic and environmental factors have influenced life 

and work.

Advanced—Fourth-grade students performing at the Advanced

level should have a beginning understanding of the relationships 

between people, places, ideas, events, and documents. They should 

know where to look for information, including reference books, 

maps, local museums, interviews with family and neighbors, and 

other sources. They should be able to use historical themes to 

organize and interpret historical topics and to incorporate insights 

from beyond the classroom into their understanding of history. 

These students should understand and be able to explain the role 

of invention and technological change in history. They should also 
47

understand and be able to explain the ways in which geographic 

and environmental factors have influenced life and work.

Grade 8

Basic—Eighth-grade students performing at the Basic level 

should be able to identify and place in context a range of historical people, places, events, ideas, and documents. They should 

be able to distinguish between primary and secondary sources. 

They should have a beginning understanding of the diversity of 

the American people and the ways in which people from a wide 

variety of national and cultural heritages have become part of a 

single nation. Eighth-grade students at the Basic level should also 

have a beginning understanding of the fundamental political ideas 

and institutions of American life and their historical origins. They 

should be able to explain the significance of some major historical 

events.

Proficient—Eighth-grade students performing at the Proficient

level should be able to explain the significance of people, places, 

events, ideas, and documents, and to recognize the connection 

between people and events within historical contexts. They should 

understand and be able to explain the opportunities, perspectives, 

and challenges associated with a diverse cultural population. They 

should incorporate geographic, technological, and other considerations in their understanding of events and should have knowledge of significant political ideas and institutions. They should be 

able to communicate ideas about historical themes while citing 

evidence from primary and secondary sources to support their 

conclusions.

Advanced—Eighth-grade students performing at the Advanced

level should recognize significant themes and movements in 

history and begin to understand particular events in light of these 

themes and movements. They should have an awareness of continuity and change over time and be able to draw relevant analogies 

between past events and present-day situations. They should be 
48 

able to frame questions about historical topics and use multiple 

sources to develop historical generalizations and interpretations. 

They should be able to explain the importance of historical themes, 

including some awareness of their political, social, and economic 

dimensions.

Grade 12

Basic—Twelfth-grade students performing at the Basic level 

should be able to identify the significance of many people, places, 

events, dates, ideas, and documents in U.S. history. They should 

also recognize the importance of unity and diversity in the social 

and cultural history of the United States and have an awareness of 

America’s changing relationships with the rest of the world. They 

should have a sense of continuity and change in history and be able 

to relate relevant experience from the past to their understanding 

of contemporary issues. They should recognize that history is subject to interpretation and should understand the role of evidence 

in making a historical argument.

Proficient—Twelfth-grade students performing at the Proficient

level should understand particular people, places, events, ideas, and 

documents in historical context, with some awareness of the political, economic, geographic, social, religious, technological, and 

ideological factors that shape historical settings. They should be 

able to communicate reasoned interpretations of past events, using 

historical evidence effectively to support their positions. Their 

written arguments should reflect some in-depth grasp of issues and 

should refer to both primary and secondary sources.

Advanced—Twelfth-grade students achieving at the Advanced

level should demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of events 

and sources of U.S. history. Recognizing that history is subject to 

interpretation, they should be able to evaluate historical claims 

critically in light of the evidence. They should understand that 

important issues and themes have been addressed differently at 

different times and that America’s political, social, and cultural 
49

traditions have changed over time. They should be able to write 

well-reasoned arguments on complex historical topics and draw on 

a wide range of sources to inform their conclusions.
50 
51

APPENDIX A

NAEP U.S. HISTORY FRAMEWORK PROJECT

STAFF, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, 

AND SUBCONTRACTORS
52 

Staff

Affiliations as of 1991–1992

Ramsay Selden

Director

Student Education Assessment Center 

Council of Chief State School Officers 

(CCSSO)

Thomas Gregory Ward

Consensus Coordinator

CCSSO

Bonnie L. Verrico

Administrative Assistant 

CCSSO

Mary Crovo

Project Officer 

National Assessment Governing Board

Steering Committee Members

Marjorie Bingham

Teacher of U.S. History

St. Louis Park Senior High School

Minnetonka, Minnesota

Austin Creel

Professor of Religion

University of Florida Department 

of Religion

Gainesville, Florida

Thomas S. Dickinson

Editor

Middle School Journal

National Middle School Association

Columbus, Ohio

Tom Dunthorn

Social Studies Consultant

Florida Department of Education

Tallahassee, Florida

Gerald M. Eads II

Division Chief

Department of Assessment and Testing

Virginia State Department of Education

Richmond, Virginia

William Everdell

Dean of Humanities and Teacher of 

Grades 4–12

Saint Ann’s School

Brooklyn Heights, New York

Elizabeth Fox-Genovese

Eleonore Raoul Professor of the 

Humanities

Institute for Women’s Studies

Emory University

Atlanta, Georgia

Sandra French

Parent

National PTA

Ellicott City, Maryland

Art Gosling

Superintendent

Arlington County Schools

Arlington, Virginia

Byron Hollinshead

Chairman

Americana Magazine, Inc.

New York, New York

Bill Honig

Superintendent

California State Department of Education

Sacramento, California

Arnita A. Jones

Executive Secretary

Organization of American Historians

Bloomington, Indiana
53

Leon Litwack

Professor of History

University of California

Berkeley, California

Ruth Wattenberg

Coordinator

AFT Education for Democracy Project

American Federation of Teachers

Washington, D.C.

Robert D. Reynolds, Jr.

Archivist

The George Meany Memorial Archives

Silver Spring, Maryland

Armstead L. Robinson

Associate Professor of History

Director of the Carter Woodson Institute

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, Virginia

Everett V. Samuelson

Professor of Educational Administration

College of Education

University of Idaho

Moscow, Idaho

Diane Stallings

Supervisory Park Ranger

Colonial National Historical Park

Newport News, Virginia

August Steinhilber

General Counsel

National School Boards Association

Alexandria, Virginia

Kathleen Hunter

National Trust for Historic Preservation

Washington, D.C.

Carolyn Yoder

Editor in Chief

Cobblestone Magazine

Peterborough, New Hampshire

Sandra Harp

Member

Minneapolis Board of Education

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Karol Wolgemuth

Fourth-Grade Teacher

Greenview Knolls Elementary School

Great Mills, Maryland

James B. Gardner (Ex Officio)

Deputy Executive Director

American Historical Association

Washington, D.C.

Frances Haley (Ex Officio)

Executive Director

National Council for the Social Studies

Washington, D.C.

Elaine Reed (Ex Officio*)

Executive Secretary

National Council for History Education

Westlake, Ohio

(*Replaced Paul Gagnon on 12/2/91)

Planning Committee Members

Carol Berkin

Professor of History

Baruch College

Department of History

New York, New York

William Branch

Teacher of U.S. History and Political 

Science

Evanston Township High School #202

Bellwood, Illinois
54 

Stewart Caffey

Teacher of U.S. History

Jefferies Junior High

Comanche Independent School District

Comanche, Texas

Pedro Castillo

Associate Professor of History

University of California, Santa Cruz

Oakes College 

Santa Cruz, California

Charlotte Crabtree*

Director

National Center for History in 

the Schools

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

(*Served on planning committee from 

September 1991–March 1992. Appointed 

to National Assessment Governing Board 

on 3/5/92.)

Alberta Sebolt George

Executive Vice President and Chief 

Operating Officer

Sturbridge Village

Sturbridge, Massachusetts

George M. Gregory

Supervisor of Educational Programs

New York State Education Department

Albany, New York

Claudia Hoone

Fourth-Grade Teacher

Elementary School #58

Indianapolis, Indiana

Jean Jamgochian

Teacher of Upper Elementary Grades

Haycock Gifted and Talented Center

Falls Church, Virginia

Richard Kirkendall

Bullitt Professor of History

History Department 

University of Washington

Seattle, Washington

Linda Levstik

Professor of Education

University of Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Tedd Levy

Teacher of U.S. History

Nathan Hale Middle School

Norwalk, Connecticut

Earl Lewis

Associate Professor of History and 

Afro-American Studies

Center for Afro-American and African 

Studies

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Glenabah Martinez

Eighth-Grade Teacher of U.S. History

Rio Grande High School

Albuquerque, New Mexico

John Patrick

Director of the Social Studies 

Development Center

Indiana University

Bloomington, Indiana

Joyce Stevos

Director of Program and Staff 

Development

Providence School Department

Providence, Rhode Island

Robert Summerville

Curriculum Consultant for Social Studies

Alabama State Department of Education

Secondary Instructional Services

Montgomery, Alabama

Stephan Thernstrom

Winthrop Professor of History

Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Lawana Trout

Professor of English Emeritus

Central State University

Chicago, Illinois
55

Reed Ueda

Associate Professor of History

Tufts University

Medford, Massachusetts

Jon Wakelyn

Professor of History

Catholic University

Washington, D.C.

Ronald G. Walters

Professor of History

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, Maryland

Subcontractors

American Institutes for Research

Judy Mitchell

Associate Research Scientist

Palo Alto, California

American Historical Association

Noralee Frankel (Task Force Chair)

Assistant Director for Women’s and 

Minority Interests

Washington, D.C.

National Council for History Education

Theodore Rabb (Task Force Chair)

Professor of History

Princeton University

Princeton, New Jersey

National Council for the Social Studies

Fay Metcalf (Task Force Chair)

Consultant for Social Studies Education

Mesa, Arizona
56 
57

APPENDIX B

RELEASED ITEMS FROM THE NAEP 

U.S. HISTORY ASSESSMENT
58 

Note: Scoring guides and other information can be found at 

www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard under Questions Tool. In the 

sample items below, the correct answer to each selected-response 

question is indicated by a “☐” symbol. To view sample answers and 

scoring criteria for each constructed-response question, please visit 

the Questions Tool.

Grade 4

1. Suppose that you are traveling with ONE of the explorers 

whose route is shown on the map.

Write the name of the explorer that you are traveling with. 

What is the area you are exploring?

Explain why your explorations were important.
59

Questions 2–3 refer to the picture above.

2. What are the people in the picture protesting against?

a. French fur trade with American Indians

b. Colonial treatment of American Indians

c. British control of colonial shipping companies

☐ British taxation of the colonists

3. The event shown in the picture helped lead directly to the

a. adoption of the Bill of Rights

☐ American Revolution

c. Great Compromise

d. French and Indian War

4. The document that contains the basic rules used to run the 

United States government is

a. the Declaration of Independence

b. Magna Carta

c. the Mayflower Compact

☐ the Constitution
60 

Questions 5–6 refer to the part of the song below.

Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd

Follow the drinkin’ gourd, 

Follow the drinkin’ gourd, 

For the old man is awaitin’ for to carry you to freedom 

If you follow the drinkin’ gourd. 

The river bank will make a mighty good road, 

The dead trees will show you the way, 

Left foot, peg foot travellin’ on; 

Follow the drinkin’ gourd.

5. In the song, “following the drinkin’ gourd” means to

☐ use a group of stars (the Big Dipper) as a guide

b. never go out at night

c. never travel long distances alone

d. share your food and drink with others

6. Why did African Americans originally sing this song?

a. It helped teach children to read and write.

b. It celebrated American independence.

☐ It gave directions about how to escape from slavery.

d. It was written by slaves in Africa.
61

These pictures show three common forms of transportation in the 

United States 100 years ago.

7. Name one form of transportation that is common now in the 

United States, and explain how it is different from the forms of 

transportation shown below.

8. What is the purpose of the Bill of Rights?

a. To say how much Americans should pay in taxes

☐ To protect freedoms like freedom of speech

c. To describe the jobs of the President and Congress

d. To make Washington, D.C., the capital of the United 

States

9. “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” 

This statement was first made when

a. Columbus arrived in the Americas

b. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb

c. Lewis and Clark saw the Pacific

☐ Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon

10. You are writing a history report about an old town. What kinds 

of historical things could you learn about the old town from its 

cemetery?

Name two historical things you could learn.

11. Imagine you could use a time machine to visit the past. You 

have landed in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776. Describe 

an important event that is happening.
62 

Questions 12–13 refer to the statement below.

“The house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do 

not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house 

to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided.”

12. The statement was made by

a. George Washington

b. Thomas Jefferson

☐ Abraham Lincoln

d. Theodore Roosevelt

13. What war broke out soon after the statement was made?

a. American Revolution

b. War of 1812

c. Mexican-American War

☐ Civil War
63

14. What best describes this monument?

a. For many Americans, it has been a symbol of the power of 

the President.

b. For many people moving west in covered wagons, it has 

been a symbol of bravery.

c. For many soldiers, it has been a symbol of the United 

States Army.

☐ For many immigrants, it has been a symbol of the freedom 

they hoped to find in the United States.

15. Give TWO reasons why the people we call “pioneers” moved 

west across the United States.
64 

Grade 8

1. Over the years, many people have immigrated to the United 

States. Give two reasons why people have come. Name a group 

of immigrants who came for each reason you have given.

2. The graph above traces “peaks” and “valleys” in immigration 

to the United States from 1890 to 1970. Choose two valleys 

on the graph. Using your knowledge of United States history, 

explain one major reason for each of the valleys you selected.

3. One major consequence of the Seven Years’ War (French and 

Indian War) was that the

a. colonists’ decision to side with France led Britain to retaliate against them

☐ expense of fighting the war led Britain to tax the colonies 

directly for the first time

c. loyalty of the colonists to the British side led Britain to 

grant them a high degree of self-government
65

d. elimination of the French threat in North America led 

Britain to concentrate on conquering all of the remaining 

Spanish colonies

4. Many people opposed ratification of the Constitution without 

a bill of rights because they

a. were afraid that states would be too powerful without a bill 

of rights

b. thought that a bill of rights would strengthen the President’s power

c. did not want the national government to have an army

☐ feared that the new national government would deny 

people their rights

5. What was the most significant factor that led the American 

colonists to form the First Continental Congress in 1774?

a. Religious conflict inside the colonies

b. The desire of the colonists to write a Constitution to 

replace the Articles of Confederation

☐ Colonial frustration with laws passed by the British 

Parliament

d. The desire of the colonists to stop the war between Britain 

and the colonies

6. List two issues that were important in causing the Civil War. 

On the chart below, list the Northern and Southern positions 

on each of these issues.

MANY NORTHERNERS MANY SOUTHERNERS

BELIEVED BELIEVED

1. 1.

2. 2.
66 

7. The phonograph was invented by

a. Samuel Morse

b. Benjamin Franklin

☐ Thomas Edison

d. Cyrus McCormick

8. What goal was most important in shaping United States foreign policy between 1945 and 1990?

☐ Preventing the spread of communism to new areas and 

weakening it where it already existed

b. Encouraging trained scientists and other skilled workers 

who lived in foreign countries to immigrate to the United 

States

c. Strengthening the United States industrial and agricultural 

sectors to help them compete against the British and the 

French

d. Providing foreign aid to all poor countries to help them 

develop economically and technologically

9. The Lend-Lease Act, the Yalta Conference, and the dropping 

of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima are all associated with the

a. First World War

☐ Second World War

c. Korean War

d. Vietnam War
67

Questions 10–12 refer to the passage below.

“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. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted 

among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish 

it, and to institute a new government.”

—1776

10. The quotation is from the

a. Articles of Confederation

b. Constitution

☐ Declaration of Independence

d. Missouri Compromise

11. The primary author of the document was

a. George Washington

b. John Marshall

c. Robert E. Lee

☐ Thomas Jefferson

12. Explain why the framers of the Constitution established a 

system of checks and balances among the three branches of 

government.

13. You are writing a history report about an old town. What 

kinds of historical things could you learn about the old town 

from its cemetery?

Name two historical things you could learn.
68 

Questions 14–15 refer to the cartoon below.

14. Circle the decade in which you believe this cartoon was drawn.

1920s 1940s ☐ 1960s 1980s

Citing specific historical evidence, explain why you chose the 

decade you did.

15. What is the main message of this cartoon?

16. The Monroe Doctrine was intended to

a. promote United States trade with China

b. help keep the peace in Europe

☐ discourage European involvement in the Americas

d. protect United States business in Japan and Korea
69

Grade 12

1. Which of the following best describes the British colonial 

policy called mercantilism?

a. Encouraging colonists to sell manufactured goods to European countries

b. Sending raw materials from Britain to the colonies

☐ Exercising British control over economic activities in the 

colonies

d. Attempting to make the colonies economically 

self-sufficient

“In spite of the obvious advantages held by the North, the South 

was able to fight for four years and to achieve some real military 

successes. So while the North held most of the cards, the South had 

one or two aces up its sleeves.”

2. Identify two of the “aces” (significant advantages) that the 

South had in the Civil War. Explain how these advantages 

helped the South.

3. In which book did Upton Sinclair describe the terrible working and food-production conditions in the meat-packing 

industry?

a. The Grapes of Wrath

b. Pit

c. The Octopus

☐ The Jungle
70 

Questions 4–5 refer to the cartoon below.

4. When the cartoon was created, the artist was probably thinking of which foreign policy slogan?

a. The arsenal of democracy

b. Peace with honor

c. We have nothing to fear but fear itself

☐ Speak softly and carry a big stick

5. Describe the type of foreign policy that the policeman in the 

cartoon represents. Give one specific example of this type of 

foreign policy from the period that the cartoon shows.

“We will answer [the] demand for a gold standard by saying . . . you 

shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, 

you shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold. ”

 —William Jennings Bryan, 1896

6. What was Bryan arguing in his “Cross of Gold” speech?

a. Free coinage of silver would cause a depression.

b. The gold standard was needed to preserve economic 

stability.

☐ The gold standard harmed some groups in society.

d. The government should stop buying silver immediately.
71

7. Many writers of the “lost generation,” such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, wrote books in which they

☐ criticized what they regarded as the shallow materialism of 

the United States during the 1920s

b. sought to capture the freedom experienced by people living 

on the western frontier

c. praised the quick pace and unique opportunities found in 

large cities in the United States

d. expressed deep yearning for what they regarded as the 

simple lives led by rural Americans

8. Churches and other religious institutions have been important 

in reform movements in the United States. Identify one reform 

movement in which religious institutions have been involved 

since 1945.

Why did these institutions get involved in this movement, and 

what actions did they take?

9. Article I, Section 2, United States Constitution

“[The population of states] shall be determined by adding to the 

whole number of free persons . . . three-fifths of all other persons.”

An important debate led to the writing of this section of the 

Constitution. Identify the issue being debated.

Describe the northern position in this debate and explain why 

many northerners took it.

Describe the southern position in this debate and explain why 

many southerners took it.

10. The Progressive movement of 1890–1920 is best described as

☐ a broad-based reform movement that tried to reduce 

the abuses that had come with modernization and 

industrialization
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b. a loose coalition of groups primarily dedicated to passing a 

constitutional amendment prohibiting the consumption of 

alcohol

c. an anti-tariff movement led by a federation of business 

owners and manufacturers who wanted to promote trade 

abroad

d. a grass-roots movement that attempted to gather support 

for the establishment of an international organization such 

as the League of Nations

“Imagine a six-foot-deep ditch weaving from Washington, D.C., 

to Detroit, Michigan. Men’s heads could not be seen over the 

top edges. Dugouts would be tunneled for sleeping and eating 

quarters.”

11. The passage above describes battle conditions first experienced 

by United States soldiers fighting in the

☐ First World War

b. Second World War

c. Korean War

d. Vietnam War

Questions 12–13 refer to the quotation below.

“It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples 

who are resisting . . . armed minorities or . . . outside pressures.”

—Harry S. Truman, 1947

12. The policy described was part of a larger policy of the Truman 

administration that was referred to as

a. nativism

b. massive retaliation

c. isolationism

☐ containment
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13. How did Truman’s assertion change traditional United States 

foreign policy?

Give two specific examples of United States actions that illustrate the new foreign policy.

Questions 14–15 refer to the headline and newspaper cartoon 

below.

SOVIETS LAUNCH FIRST MAN-MADE SATELLITE INTO ORBIT

14. What did the United States government do in response to the 

event referred to in the cartoon and headline?

a. The government decided to seek peace immediately and to 

end the Cold War.

b. The government banned civilian contact between United 

States and Soviet citizens.

☐ The government decided to spend more on both scientific 

education and the military.
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d. The government requested that the United Nations prohibit Soviet space exploration.

15. Give two reasons why many people in the United States were 

upset by the events shown in the cartoon and the headline.
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