American History Quiz
Why did the British Parliament believe it had the right to levy taxes on American colonists in the 1760s?
Britain defended the colonists in the French and Indian War.
Which war was a major factor in the beginning of the American Revolution?
French and Indian War
What was a significant aspect of the Mayflower Compact?
It was the first attempt to set up a framework for government in America
What was one result of the British victory in the French and Indian War?
The French were forced to give up their major land holdings in North America.
How did the British policy of "salutary neglect" affect the American colonists?
It allowed American colonists to govern themselves without interference from Great Britain
How did the passage of the Stamp Act contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War?
It influenced the colonists rebel against British taxation.
The distinction between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders, [is] no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American. Patrick Henry, 1774 speech during the First Continental Congress What conclusion can be drawn from Patrick Henry's speech regarding the perspective of colonial Americans?
By 1774, a growing number of Colonists viewed themselves as being part of a unique social and political entity different from Britain
Exports from Virginia and Maryland to Great Britain, 1763 Commodities Value (in pounds) Tobacco 768,000 Indian corn, beans, peas, etc. 30,000 Wheat 40,000 Deer and other skins 25,000 Iron 35,000 Sassafras, ginseng, etc. 7,000 Masts, planks, turpentine, tar 55,000 Flax seed 14,000 Pickled pork, beef, ham, and bacon 15,000 Ships 30,000 Hemp 21,000 Total 1,040,000 What key feature of mercantilism is reflected in the information in the table?
Colonists produced mostly agricultural goods and raw materials for export
The British Empire drove the French out of nearly all of North America with its victory in the Seven Years′ War, 1756-1763, also known as the French and Indian War. Tensions remained between the British and the American Indians on the frontier following the war. As an attempt at compromise, the British government issued the Proclamation of 1763, forbidding the settlement of British colonists west of the Appalachian Mountains. How did this proclamation contribute to colonial unrest leading up to the Revolutionary War?
Colonists wanted to settle in the Ohio Valley and lands farther west.
the Gutenberg press 1454 1492 john Cabot explores north america 1947 Magellan returns from his voyage 1522 What event will BEST complete the timeline?
Columbus' arrival in the Americas
Wars in the American Colonies War Years Location The Pequot War 1636-1637 Southern New England King Philip's War 1675-1678 New England Pontiac's War 1763-1766 Great Lakes region The wars listed in the table occurred as the result of tensions between which groups of people?
European colonists and Native Americans
1620 - The Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, England, with 120 Pilgrims on board 1628 - Puritans arrived in Salem and establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony 1634 - Catholics traveled to Maryland on the ships Dove and Ark 1682 - William Penn, a Quaker, established the colony of Pennsylvania 1683 - Thirteen German Mennonite families settled in Pennsylvania 1737 - Twenty-one Amish families traveled from the Netherlands to Philadelphia Which statement is BEST supported by this information?
Europeans facing religious persecution sought freedom in the American colonies
Who gained military experience while fighting for the British during the French and Indian War?
George Washington
How did the British victory in the French and Indian War contribute to the call for revolution in the American colonies?
Great Britain began increasingly taxing the colonies to pay for the war.
What accounts for the territorial changes that happened between 1754 and 1763?
Great Britain defeated France in a war.
Trade between Great Britain and the American Colonies, 1740-1770 Year Value of Exports to Great Britain (in pounds) Value of Imports from Great Britain (in pounds) 1740 718,400 813,400 1750 814,800 1,313,100 1760 761,100 2,611,800 1770 1,015,500 1,925,600 How does the information shown in the table reflect a key goal of mercantilism?
Great Britain profited from a favorable balance of trade with the colonies
By such a Colony, many families, who would otherwise starve, will be provided for, and made masters of houses and lands . . .; their labor in improving their own lands, will make the adjoining reserved lands valuable; and the rents of those reserved lands will be a perpetual fund for the relieving [of] more poor people. —James Oglethorpe, 1733 What BEST explains the benefit from the colony in Georgia that Oglethorpe describes in the excerpt?
It will help to reduce poverty in England
By such a Colony, many families, who would otherwise starve, will be provided for, and made masters of houses and lands . . .; their labor in improving their own lands, will make the adjoining reserved lands valuable; and the rents of those reserved lands will be a perpetual fund for the relieving [of] more poor people. Written in 1733, this excerpt explains the plans of which colonial founder?
James Oglethorpe of Georgia
What part of Triangular Trade transported slaves to the Americas?
Middle Passage
Why did American colonists grow angry with Parliament after the French and Indian War?
Parliament passed more laws that directly affected the colonies.
Reasons for the Plantation in New England (ca. 1628) 7. What can be a better work, and more honorable and worthy of a Christian than to help rise and support a particular church while it is in its infancy, and to join his forces with such a company of faithful people, as by a timely assistance may grow strong and prosper, when for want of such help may be put to great hazard, if not wholly ruined. This excerpt explains an important reason that guided what group of colonial settlers?
Puritans in Massachusetts
In 1619, the Virginia Company agreed to create a legislative assembly. This became the House of Burgesses, the first legislative assembly in the American colonies. Its first meeting brought together 22 elected representatives in Jamestown on July 30, 1619. Members met at least once a year with the royal governor. The House of Burgesses led to the growth of what form of government in colonial America?
Representative Democracy
These events characteristic of which historical era? • Passage of the Quartering Act • Meeting of the Continental Congress • Formation of Committees of Correspondence
Revolutionary War
There cannot be a clearer demonstration of any thing, than several nations of the Americans are of this, who are rich in land, and poor in all the comforts of life; whom nature having furnished as liberally as any other people, with the materials of plenty, i.e. a fruitful soil, apt to produce in abundance, what might serve for food, [clothing], and delight; yet for want of improving it by labour, have not one hundredth part of the conveniencies we enjoy: and a king of a large and fruitful territory there, feeds, lodges, and is clad worse than a day-labourer in England. Second Treatise on Civil Government by John Locke, 1689 How did the English philosopher John Locke justify English colonization of the New World?
Since American Indians had not worked the land by English standards, Englishmen had a right to claim the land.
Great Britain borrowed heavily to pay for the costs of fighting the French and Indian War. As a result, its national debt doubled from approximately £70,000,000 to £140,000,000. In addition, the British estimated at £300,000 per year the cost of maintaining the 10,000 troops stationed in North America to defend the territory it had won during the war. How did this financial situation affect British policy toward its North American colonies?
The British introduced taxes to get colonists to pay some of the costs.
Which British action motivated enslaved men to fight with the British in the American Revolution?
The British military promised freedom to enslaved men who fought for them.
Which outcome of the French and Indian War was the most significant for the colonists?
The British went in debt funding the war.
Why did American colonists support the British in the French and Indian War?
The French established trading centers on lands claimed by the colonists.
On route to America, Pilgrims and Puritans find themselves lacking structure to set up a new colony. A government is established in the new colonies. Which of the following correctly completes the graphic?
The Mayflower Compact is signed
The French and Indian War affected relations between the British and the colonists in which of the following ways?
The colonists challenged British authority.
How did the Reformation influence European exploration?
The conflicts between the Catholics of Europe led to the desire to spread Christianity to new groups of people
Population of Selected Colonies, 1750 Colony Total Population Black Population Rhode Island 33,226 3,347 New York 76,696 11,014 Virginia 231,033 101,452 South Carolina 64,000 39,000 Which statement BEST explains the numbers shown in the table?
The plantation economy of the Southern colonies relied upon enslaved labor
Events in Colonial North America, 1760s Year Event 1763 The French and Indian War ends in a British victory. British authorities place restrictions on colonial settlement beyond the Allegheny Mountains. 1764 The British Parliament passes the Sugar Act in order to gain tax revenue from the American colonists. The Currency Act reforms the colonial currency system to the advantage of British merchants trading with the colonists. 1765 The Stamp Act imposes a direct tax on paper, playing cards, and legal documents. The Quartering Act requires colonists to provide accommodations for British troops stationed in the colonies. Which statement BEST explains the lasting impact of these turning points in United States history?
They led to American independence by inspiring resentment among colonists.
What action did the British take as a result of the French and Indian War to make it easier to manage the American colonies?
They prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.
n the following pages I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense:... I have heard it asserted by some that, as America has flourished under her former connection with Great Britain, the same connection is necessary towards her future happiness, and will always have the same effect. Nothing can be more fallacious than this kind of argument. Question The passage below best expresses the ideas of
Thomas Paine
Which resources or commodities contributed most to the economic success of Jamestown colony?
Tobacco
Use the excerpt to answer the question that follows. The end of government being the good of mankind, points out its great duties: It is above all things to provide for the security, the quiet, and happy enjoyment of life, liberty, and property . . . . The same law of nature and of reason is equally obligatory on a democracy, an aristocracy, and a monarchy: Whenever the administrators, in any of those forms, deviate from truth, justice and equity, they verge towards tyranny, and are to be opposed; and if they prove incorrigible, they will be deposed by the people, if the people are not rendered too abject. —James Otis, The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved, 1764 How did this point of view influence the development of American democracy?
by justifying independence when the British began violating colonists' rights
The Southern Colonies consisted of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Colonists who settled in these colonies during the 1600s and1700s benefited from soil that was fertile and a growing season that was long. The climate was warm and moist, and broad rivers made transportation easy. The environmental characteristics of the Southern Colonies caused that region's economy to be based on what activity?
cash crop agriculture
As for the Creeks they are situated now in the midway between us, the French, and the Spaniard, and deals with those that give them most affecting a neutrality, yet making their advantages of the differences happening between the European nations so we may safely conclude that we have not above half of the trade and the number of Indians subject to this government as we had in 1715 . . . . —Governor Robert Johnson of South Carolina, January 12, 1720 Based on this excerpt, Robert Johnson was MOST concerned with what issue?
competing with other Europeans for power in the colonies
Inter-colonial Wars War Years King William's War 1689-1697 Queen Anne's War 1702-1713 King George's War 1744-1748 French & Indian War 1754-1763 What was a reason for the wars listed in the table?
control of territory
English Colonies in North America Colony Year Established Virginia 1607 Massachusetts Bay Colony 1630 Carolina 1663 Georgia 1732 All of these colonies attracted settlers MOSTLY guided by what interest?
economic opportunity
The Triangular Trade Where British North Great Britain Africa American Colonies Imported slaves and manufactured goods agricultural manufactured products and goods raw materials Exported agricultural products manufactured goods ans slaves Which group in the American colonies benefited the MOST as a result of this trading system?
entrepreneurs who conducted business in the port cities of the American colonies
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. . . . Which group in revolutionary-era America was excluded from this ideal?
indigenous peoples
What economic policy maintains that a colony exists solely to benefit the mother country?
mercantilism
Which economic policy required a colony's natural resources to be used to benefit the ruling country?
mercantilism
Which aspect of the Great Awakening increased revolutionary excitement among the colonies?
rebellion against authority
Voyages to Colonial America Name of Ship Destination Year Mayflower Plymouth 1620 Ark and Dove Maryland 1634 Welcome Pennsylvania 1682 Which factor was the MOST influential in convincing the passengers on these ships to settle in America?
religious conflicts in Europe
In colonial America, which industry flourished in New England?
shipbuilding
join or die Which war did Benjamin Franklin use the illustration above in an attempt to form an alliance within the British colonies?
the French and Indian War
Our charter was with a most injurious Pretense [false claim] (and scarce that) of Law, condemned before it was possible for us to appear at Westminster [Parliament] in the legal Defense of it . . . . In little more than half a Year we saw this Commission superseded [replaced] by another more absolute and arbitrary [tyrannical], with which Sir Edmond Andros arrived as our Governor; who besides his Power...to make Laws and raise Taxes as he pleased, had also Authority by himself to Muster and Employ all Persons residing in the Territory as occasion shall serve and to transfer such Forces to any English Plantation [colony] in America as occasion shall require . . . . —Boston Declaration of Grievances, April 18, 1689 What event influenced the people who wrote this document?
the Glorious Revolution
Throughout the American colonies in 1689, people rose in revolt against colonial administrators who had strictly enforced royal policies. Over a thousand armed men in Boston arrested the governor and the customs collector of the Massachusetts Bay colony in April. In June, Jacob Leisler led a militia force against the lieutenant governor in New York, Francis Nicholson, who fled to England. John Coode and his supporters seized control of Maryland's capital in July and called for the creation of a new government that would free the colony of the "yoke of arbitrary government of tyranny and popery [Catholicism]." What event encouraged colonists to take these actions?
the Glorious Revolution
Which event during the colonial period greatly influenced the ideals of the American Revolution?
the Great Awakening
Which group of North American colonists first developed a system of self-government?
the Pilgrims
James Oglethorpe helped to found the colony of Georgia in the 1700s. The reason for starting this colony was
to create a settlement for people imprisoned because of debt
Colony Year Founder Founder Maryland 1632 Lord Baltimore Providence 1636 Roger Williams Pennsylvania 1681 William Penn The American colonies listed in the table were established primarily for what purpose?
to escape religious persecution
WANTED To go to Maryland, a BLACKSMITH, a young man unmarried, bred to country business such as plough irons, axes, hoes and can shoe a horse, and any other thing that may offer, and will bind for four or five years he will find good encouragement. For further particulars, enquire at William Brown, junr [junior] merchant in Glasgow. —Glasgow Journal, 1 September 1763 Why would someone MOST likely respond to this advertisement?
to find better economic opportunities
British Legislation in North America, 1764-1765 • Sugar Act, 1764 • Quartering Act, 1765 • Stamp Act, 1765 What was the purpose of these measures?
to get colonists to pay some of the costs resulting from the French and Indian War
What was the intended purpose of the Proclamation of 1763?
to prevent further fighting with the Native Americans
What was Columbus seeking on his first voyage across the Atlantic?
trade routes to Asia