STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) U.S. History (STAAR EOC) Syllabus

U.S. History (STAAR EOC) syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for U.S. History (STAAR EOC) in STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Foundations and the Gilded Age (1877 Onward)

   4 topics

   • Constitutional Principles
     • Federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances
     • The Bill of Rights and key amendments
   • Industrialization
     • Rise of big business and captains of industry
     • Transcontinental railroad and economic growth
     • Labor movements and unions
   • Immigration and Urbanization
     • New immigration patterns
     • Growth of cities and reform responses
   • The American West
     • Westward expansion and its effects
     • Impact on American Indian populations
2. 2

   Progressivism and Becoming a World Power

   3 topics

   • The Progressive Era
     • Muckrakers and social reform
     • Political reforms and trust-busting
     • Constitutional amendments (16th-19th)
   • Imperialism and Foreign Policy
     • Spanish-American War
     • Panama Canal and Roosevelt Corollary
   • World War I
     • Causes and U.S. entry
     • The home front and mobilization
     • Treaty of Versailles and League of Nations debate
3. 3

   Prosperity, Depression, and World War II

   3 topics

   • The 1920s
     • Economic boom and cultural change
     • Harlem Renaissance
     • Prohibition and social tensions
   • The Great Depression and New Deal
     • Causes of the stock market crash
     • New Deal programs and the role of government
   • World War II
     • Causes and U.S. entry after Pearl Harbor
     • Home front and wartime mobilization
     • Major events and the war's conclusion
4. 4

   The Cold War and Domestic Change

   4 topics

   • Origins of the Cold War
     • Containment and the Truman Doctrine
     • Korean War and arms race
   • Cold War at Home and Abroad
     • McCarthyism and the Red Scare
     • Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam War
   • The Civil Rights Movement
     • Brown v. Board and landmark legislation
     • Key leaders and organizations
     • Strategies of protest and resistance
   • Social Movements of the 1960s-70s
     • Women's, Hispanic, and other rights movements
5. 5

   Modern America and Skills

   4 topics

   • Late 20th Century Politics
     • Conservative resurgence
     • End of the Cold War
   • Contemporary United States
     • Globalization and technology
     • September 11 and the war on terror
   • Economics and Geography
     • Free enterprise system
     • Geographic factors in U.S. development
   • Social Studies Skills
     • Analyzing primary and secondary sources
     • Interpreting charts, maps, and political cartoons
     • Identifying point of view and bias

U.S. History (STAAR EOC) flashcards for STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness)

23 of 60 cards from the U.S. History (STAAR EOC) deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What constitutional principle divides government power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches?

   Separation of powers.

2. What system gives each branch of government the ability to limit the powers of the others?

   Checks and balances (e.g., presidential veto, judicial review, Senate confirmation).

3. What 1803 Supreme Court case established the principle of judicial review?

   Marbury v. Madison.

4. What constitutional principle divides power between the national (federal) government and the states?

   Federalism.

5. Which constitutional principle holds that the government's authority comes from the consent of the people?

   Popular sovereignty.

6. What term describes the late-1800s economic transformation marked by mass factory production, railroads, and the rise of big business?

   Industrialization (the Second Industrial Revolution).

7. What innovation by Henry Ford dramatically lowered production costs and made automobiles affordable?

   The moving assembly line (mass production).

8. What term describes large corporations that dominated an entire industry, such as Standard Oil and Carnegie Steel?

   Monopolies (trusts), led by industrialists/"robber barons" like Rockefeller and Carnegie.

9. What 1890 law was the first federal attempt to limit monopolies and trusts?

   The Sherman Antitrust Act.

10. What labor organization, founded by Samuel Gompers, focused on skilled workers and bread-and-butter issues like wages and hours?

    The American Federation of Labor (AFL).

11. What term describes the wave of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe who arrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s?

    New immigrants (processed mainly at Ellis Island).

12. What East Coast facility was the main immigration processing station, and what West Coast facility processed Asian immigrants?

    Ellis Island (New York) and Angel Island (San Francisco).

13. What 1882 law was the first major U.S. law to restrict immigration based on nationality?

    The Chinese Exclusion Act.

14. What densely populated, often overcrowded urban apartment buildings housed many poor immigrants in cities?

    Tenements.

15. What term describes blending immigrant cultures into one American culture, often called the "melting pot"?

    Assimilation (Americanization).

16. What 1862 law granted 160 acres of western land to settlers who farmed it for five years?

    The Homestead Act.

17. What 1869 achievement linked the eastern and western United States by rail?

    Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.

18. What 1887 law tried to assimilate Native Americans by breaking up tribal lands into individual family plots?

    The Dawes Act.

19. What 1890 event marked the last major armed conflict between the U.S. Army and Native Americans?

    The Massacre at Wounded Knee.

20. What 1893 thesis by Frederick Jackson Turner argued the frontier shaped American democracy and character?

    The Frontier Thesis (Turner's Frontier Thesis).

21. What term describes early 1900s reformers who exposed corruption and social problems through investigative journalism?

    Muckrakers (e.g., Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell).

22. What two 1906 laws resulted from Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" exposing the meatpacking industry?

    The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.

23. What three Progressive Era amendments expanded democracy and reform?

    16th (income tax), 17th (direct election of senators), and 18th (Prohibition); the 19th added women's suffrage.

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