Social Studies — Grade 8

Steamboats

In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 7.1

Article about the early development of steamboats and their introduction on North Carolina's inland waterways. Includes an explanation of how steamboats work.

Format: article

By David Walbert.

The Mexican-American War

In Antebellum North Carolina, page 7.2

Brief history of the war between Mexico and the United States (1846–48) and the expansion of the U.S. under President James Polk.

Format: article

How a canal works

In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 7.3

Canals operate by a series of locks that raise and lower water levels. In this animation, the boat enters the lock from downstream, where the water level is lower. The gate shuts behind it, and water...

Format: animation

The Dismal Swamp Canal

In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 7.2

Transportation in northeastern North Carolina was extremely difficult in the eighteenth century. The Dismal Swamp Canal, which opened in 1805, enabled passage between the Pasquotank River in North Carolina wih the Elizabeth River in Virginia. Over time the canal was rebuilt and expanded, and today it is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

Format: article

By David Walbert.

The Compromise of 1850

In Antebellum North Carolina, page 7.4

The Compromise of 1850, passed by Congress after the Mexican War, temporarily appeased both northerners and southerners who debated the expansion of slavery.

Format: article

The California Gold Rush

In Antebellum North Carolina, page 7.3

The California Gold Rush, which began in 1848, caused thousands of people to head west, most of them by land across the American continent.

Format: article

The Buncombe Turnpike

In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 7.6

The Buncombe Turnpike began in the early nineteenth century as the Drover's Road through western North Carolina, used to drive livestock to market. The Turnpike brought trade and increased prosperity to the region and especially to Asheville. After the Civil War, economic recession and the rise of railroads led to its decline.

Format: article

Resources on the web

Steam engines

The purpose of this lesson is to use the Internet to explore the Industrial Revolution. Students in middle school should acquire some knowledge of the Industrial Revolution in social studies, and from science and technology they should acquire a grasp of... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

Provided by: American Association for the Advancement of Science