EOCT Review Questions (GPS 1 – 4) #’s 1 – 41

1. What was the primary motive of the original settlers of the Virginia Colony?

•Obtain land and become rich by making money off of the products and raw materials the land produced.

2. How did tobacco change Virginia?

• John Rolfe saved the colony when he discovered tobacco• It became the colony’s chief source of income•Was profitable for growers; produced large revenues from taxes• Attracted more settlers with the “headright system” – 50 acres

3. Explain how the relationship between the English and Native Americans changed from 1607-1650.

• Hostile at first; Powhatan led 200 followers in an attack on Jamestown• Powhatan hoped to est. trade; helped settlers survive the first winter• March 1622, 300 colonists killed by Native American attack• 1644, colonists turned back an attack and from then on was clear colonists had control of the land and colony

4. What was the House of Burgesses and why was it significant?

•Virginia’s first elected legislative body• Selected directly by the people.•Helped lay the foundation for ideas about representative government that would develop in the colonies.

5. Explain the series of events known as Bacon’s Rebellion.

• The settlement of VA kept pushing westward with more conflict with Native Americans• Colonists became irritated b/c they were not

receiving protection from the Governor. • Nathaniel Bacon raised an army to fight the

N.A.’s and his actions were condemned by the Governor• Bacon then turned his troops on the Governor

and burned Jamestown• It showed that the colonists expected a

government that served more than just the wealthy few

6. How did the introduction of slavery change the Southern colonies?

• Slavery helped est. the plantation system which raised cash crops on huge farms that was completely dependent on slavery• Slavery and the plantation system became the backbone of the Southern economy

7. Why did the Puritans move to New England?

• Religious dissent – disagreement with the Church of England• To est. a community built on “pure” biblical teachings rather than the traditions of the Church of England• Est. a colony at Plymouth, Massachusetts•Mayflower Compact – est. a legislature and the gov’t derived its power from the people of the colony

8. What happened with King Philip’s War?

• A series of wars broke out at settlers moved further west, pushing Native Americans off their lands• King Philip (Metacom) united NA’s in an unsuccessful attempt to drive out the English settlers• NA’s killed more than 2,000 colonists but were eventually defeated• The wars resulted in the English gaining firmer control over New England

9. Who started Rhode Island and why did he do so?

•Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson•Dissenters left Massachusetts b/c of a disagreement with the Puritan church

10. What was the Half-Way Covenant and why was it necessary?

• Partial membership to Puritan church for children and grandchildren of full members, regardless of any conversion experience. • So long as they were baptized, they were considered a church member. • Its purpose was to attract the Puritan youth to eventually see the value in full membership and forsake secularism.

11. Describe the Salem Witch Trials.

• In 1692, commitment to protect the Puritan faith resulted in one of the darkest episodes in American history.• Claiming they had been possessed by the

devil, several young girls in Salem, Mass., accused various townspeople of being witches. • Colonial authorities brought the accused

to trial and condemned a number of them to death

12. Why did Massachusetts lose its Charter and become a Royal Colony?

• Religious unrest eventually took its toll and the colony lost its charter in 1684• In 1691, Massachusetts became a royal colony under the leadership of the king’s appointed governor• The Crown est. a new representative legislature and abolished the requirement that every colonist must be a member of the Puritan church

13. Where did the Dutch settle? What was it called then? Now?

• The area we know now as New York was originally settled by the Dutch. • They named their colony “New Amsterdam” and est. it as a diverse, wealthy, key trading post on the mouth of the Hudson River.• England noticed its prosperity and took it in 1664; it was immediately renamed New York.

14. Which group started Pennsylvania? Who was their leader?

• Under the leadership of William Penn, Pennsylvania became a religious haven for the Quakers. • They did not recognize class differences, promoted equality of the sexes, practiced non-violence, and sought to deal fairly with the Native Americans. • They made Pennsylvania a place of religious tolerance.

15. Where did the French settle in North America?

• France’s most successful early North American colony was established at Quebec, along the shores of the St. Lawrence River, in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain.

16. Which industry were the French most involved in?

• France made great amounts of money from their fur trade. • They obtained fur, either by trapping animals or trading with Native Americans, then sold their products for great profits in Europe. • As a result, Native Americans and French traders came to rely on one another for commerce.

17. What dominated each of the following areas in the 13 colonies?

• Southern Colonies: slaves and the plantation system; cash crops – tobacco, rice, indigo, cotton•Middle Colonies: farming and commerce; large, diverse populations in the port cities – New York, Philadelphia• New England Colonies: shipbuilding and lumber, trade with Europe and other colonies, fishing in the Atlantic Ocean

SSUSH218. What is Mercantilism?

• Countries grow wealthier and maintain their national security by consistently exporting (sell) more than they import (buy). • American colonists began a profitable

“Transatlantic Trade” in which they shipped many of the colonies’ products and raw materials to England. • The Navigation Acts required the colonies to

sell certain goods only to England who would then use them or trade them to other nations.

19. What is the Triangle Trade?

• The trade between three points – Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

20. Describe conditions during the Middle Passage.

• The Middle Passage was the route taken by ships carrying slaves from Africa to North America – the middle leg of the Triangular Trade. • The captives were forced to live in

cramped quarters aboard the ships and suffered inhumane treatment. • Due mostly to poor sanitation and

disease, many died before reaching the Americas.

21. What are some ways slaves attempted to keep African culture alive in the 13 Colonies?

•Mixed African traditions with the English language (Gullah) and Christianity. •Because they shared the burden of slavery, they developed tight knit communities over time.

22. List the major accomplishments of Ben Franklin.

• Inventor, scientist, writer, ambassador to France, and a founding father of the United States.•He was the example of individualism and social mobility in the colonies.

23. Define Social Mobility and individualism as an American Ideal.

• Social mobility is the ability to move up from one social status to another; this was usually based on land ownership and was difficult to achieve in Europe.

• This was different in the colonies b/c land was abundant – even those who came to the colonies as indentured servants often eventually became property owners and obtained the right to vote.

• If the colonists worked hard and be successful, they could advance their economic status.

• A belief in the ability of each individual to achieve success if they will simply apply themselves and work hard is called individualism.

24. Explain the significance of the Great Awakening in America.

• A religious movement in the 1730s that featured passionate evangelical preachers. These ministers believed the colonists had forsaken God and called them back to a “sincere Christian commitment”. • It encourage colonists to think for

themselves on religious matters and helped ensure the principles of freedom of religion and separation of church and state.

SSUSH 325. Who was fighting in the French and Indian War and Why?

• French and Native Americans vs. British • Desire for resources and territory b/c of mercantilism – Ohio River Valley• The war began in 1754 as British colonists moved west and clashed with the French and their Native American allies.

26. What did the Treaty of Paris of 1763 do? • Ended the French and Indian War• France gave up its claims to Canada and all lands east

of the Mississippi River. • In addition, Spain ceded Florida to the British as well. • Britain stood alone as the one, true colonial power in

eastern North America.• The American colonists lost respect for Britain’s military

b/c it was viewed as ill prepared for fighting on American terrain.

• Great Britain was heavily in debt after fighting to defend its colonies and felt that Americans should help pay for the expense.

• Relations between England and its colonies deteriorated after the war.

27. Why were Americans upset at the Proclamation 1763?

• The British gained a vast territory after the French & Indian War they needed to control and the first step was King George III’s Proclamation of 1763. • It forbade colonists from settling west of

the Appalachian Mtns., and put the territory under military control – why have all this land if you aren’t going to use it!?!?!• It was resented and ignored by the

colonists.

28. List the major grievances of American Colonists leading up to 1776.

• Proclamation of 1763• Stamp Act – “no taxation without representation”; boycott of British goods• Declaratory Act• Tea Act – Boston Tea Party by Massachusetts’ committee of correspondence• Intolerable Acts

29. Who were the Sons of Liberty?

• Groups that sprang up throughout the colonies to support and enforce the boycott of British goods b/c of the Stamp Act. • They often used violence to intimidate any merchant or royal official who might otherwise use the stamps. • Boycotts along with violent responses to the Stamp Act caused Parliament to repeal the law.

30. How did the Committee of Correspondence change communication?

• Many colonies organized these groups dedicated to organizing resistance against British laws; they made sure colonists remained discontented with British rule. • December 1773: Massachusetts’s

committee of correspondence led a group of radicals, dressed as Mohawk Indians, to Boston Harbor; they raided British ships hauling tea and dumped them overboard – known as the “Boston Tea Party”.

31. Explain the importance of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense to the movement for independence.

• January 1776: Paine published “Common Sense” after fighting broke out the previous April. • In it, he made a compelling case for

independence that won many to the cause. • Due to the influence of Paine and others, the

2nd Continental Congress eventually stopped seeking resolution with England and chose, instead, to declare independence.

SSUSH432. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

• Drafted by Thomas Jefferson. • He was influenced by the ideas of the

Enlightenment and asserted the principles of egalitarianism (all men are created equal) and proclaimed that men are born with certain inalienable rights (John Locke & natural rights governments cannot take away) – “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. • Formally adopted by the Continental

Congress, July 4th, 1776.

33. When was it signed?

• Formally adopted by the Continental Congress, July 4th, 1776.

34. What role did John Locke play? • An Enlightenment philosopher that influenced Thomas

Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence• He challenged the idea monarchs possess a God-given

right to rule with citizens obligated to obey. • He believed that people are born with certain natural

rights that no government can take away – life, liberty, property.

• He also advocated the social contract theory – an implied contract b/t a gov’t and its citizens: citizens are born with freedom and rights, but for the good of society, give up certain freedoms and empower gov’t to maintain order for the betterment of society rather than for its own interests.

• He also taught citizens have the right to replace any government that fails to serve the public good.

35. How did the French help the American Colonists/Continental Army?

• After the victory at Saratoga, the French finally allied with the Americans; promised money, troops, and the support of the French Navy that prompted the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown b/c of the blockade. • Even before the official treaty, Marquis de

Lafayette fought for the Revolution; he rose through the ranks and Congress eventually gave him his own command.

36. Which American spent much of the War in France convincing them to help America?

• Shortly after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress sent Benjamin Franklin to Paris to try to convince the French to form an open alliance with the United States.

37. Who was the greatest foreign military aid to General George Washington?

• Prussian Baron Friedrich Von Steuben helped Washington train his undisciplined and poorly supplied troops at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-1778. •Once the warm weather returned, Washington’s army returned to combat, more determined and better prepared to meet the British in battle.

38. Describe conditions at Valley Forge.

• Following the victory at Saratoga, the Continental Army endured a harsh winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. • Poorly supplied and lacking warm clothing,

many of Washington’s men proved too sick to serve. A number of them even died. • With the efforts of Von Steuben and

Washington, the army effectively used their time at Valley Forge to become better trained and prepared to fight the British.

39. Explain the events when Washington crossed the Delaware River.

• In retreat, after a humiliating defeat by the British at New York, Washington was plagued by a lack of supplies, undisciplined soldiers, and the desertion of many of his troops – the Continental Army was on the brink of defeat. • In December 1776, Washington surprised his

enemy by crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night and attacked the Hessians at Trenton, then Princeton, NJ. • The victories greatly lifted American morale

and gave hope that the Revolution could actually succeed.

40. Who was Lord Cornwallis?

•Southern British commander who fought the American army in the Carolinas and ultimately surrendered to Washington at Yorktown.

41. What was the significance of the following events in the American Revolution? • Lexington and Concord: where the first shots of the

American Revolution were fired. • Bunker Hill: after Lexington/Concord, 20,000 Patriots

surrounded British held Boston. June 1775, British troops launched a series of attacks on American held positions – Bunker and Breed’s Hill; although a British victory, they suffered far greater casualties than the Americans.

• Saratoga: Sept. 1777, Gen. Horatio Gates’ victories at Saratoga, NY that convinced the French that victory was possible and formed an alliance with the Americans.

• Trenton: Washington’s surprise attack on Hessians; boosted morale and confidence of an American victory.

• Yorktown: site of Corwallis’ surrender to Washington which effectively ended the American Revolution.

• Treaty of Paris 1783: treaty ending the American Revolution; British recognition of U.S. independence