8th Grade Test Tomorrow!

If you're looking for help with tomorrow's test, have a look here, 8th graders:

Some fine sample sentences brought to you by class 803:

Theodore Roosevelt encouraged the Panamanians to gain independence from Colombia, so he could build the Panama Canal.

The Panama Canal was dug to shorten the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Yellow journalism caused the Americans to believe that the Spanish had destroyed the U.S.S. Maine.

The U.S. imperialized Mexico by fighting the Mexican War.

Here are your short answer questions:

1. Explain how the United States got involved in the Spanish-American War and explain how the United States benefited from the war.
2. Give TWO examples of how the United States practiced imperialism in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Mention TWO nations that the United States imperialized, explain how the U.S. gained control of each of these nations, and the effects of imperialism on these nations.
3. Explain the main causes of World War I and the immediate cause of World War I.
4. Describe the experiences of a soldier involved in trench warfare during World War I.

And some fine responses to some of them...

An answer to #1 from Robert of 801:
The U.S.S. Maine exploded in Cuba. In the papers, people started blaming Spain because they thought they were the ones who blew up the ship. This was an example of yellow journalism. At the same time, Cuba wanted freedom from Spain. After the Maine exploded, the United States got into the war and helped out Cuba. As a result of the war, when the U.S. won, the U.S. won some land. Two of those lands were Puerto Rico and the Philippines.

An answer to #2 from Jose of 804:
The United States practiced imperialism in many nations. Two imperialized nations were the Philippines and Hawaii. The U.S. imperialized Hawaii for its sugar plantations. They simply brought their battleships to Hawaii. Hawaii didn’t declare war since they thought it was hopeless. The U.S. also imperialized the Philippines for their land. They fought the Spanish-American War to get control of the Philippines. Then they fought in the Philippines to keep it.

An answer to #3 from Kimberllee and 803:
The main causes of World War I were militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. Militarism was the development of new weapons, imperialism encouraged countries to fight for distant lands, and nationalism made every country want to prove it was the best. These things caused Europe to be very tense. However, the immediate cause was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. As a result of alliances, many countries then started to attack each other. World War I was called the Great War.

Good luck! Study well!