Grade 8 Social Studies case studies
Grade 8 Social Studies · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Grade 8 Social Studies is the middle-school civics, history, geography, and economics course that most U.S. states assess near the end of eighth grade, usually as a state standards-based test that can factor into course placement or graduation readiness reporting. The Grade 8 Social Studies case studies are 5 cases and about 2,621 words.
1The Newport Merchant and the Vice-Admiralty Court
In 1768, a merchant in Newport, Rhode Island, imported 1,200 hogsheads of molasses from the French Caribbean island of Martinique. British customs records attached to the cargo list duty paid on only 300 hogsheads.
537 words, about 3 min2A Freedmen's Bureau Agent Chooses Priorities
In March 1867, a Freedmen's Bureau agent in a rural Georgia county reports 1,800 freedpeople, 40 abandoned or confiscated land parcels, and 60 planters offering sharecropping contracts. The agent must decide how to use his limited staff before the planting season.
527 words, about 3 min3Levees or Wetlands on a Sinking Coast
A coastal city of 120,000 people sits behind a levee system that engineers rate for a 100-year storm. The land beneath parts of the city is sinking about 8 millimeters per year, while sea level is rising.
520 words, about 3 min4Water Scarcity and a Price Ceiling
After a hurricane cuts off the main highway into a city of 250,000, bottled water becomes scarce. Before the storm, stores sold about 300,000 bottles per day at 1 each.
508 words, about 3 min5Investigating Child Labor at the Barton Mill
A student group investigates the question: 'Did the opening of the Barton textile mill in 1885 increase child labor in the town?' They have four sources: (1) the 1880 and 1890 federal census, which list occupations but may undercount children; (2) a 1886 factory inspector's report noting 37 children under 14 working in the mill; (3) a company newsletter from 1886 praising the mill's 'family-friendly' employment; and (4) a 1935 oral history from a former worker who recalls starting at age 12. The census shows the town's population rising from 4,200 to 6,800.
529 words, about 3 min