These history Flashcards will help you understand what was going on early in the history of the Americas. Explanations for the answers are provided.
There are 82 flash cards in this set (14 pages to print.)
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Sample flash cards in this set:
| Questions | Answers |
|---|---|
| The earliest inhabitants of America, the Native Americans, are believed to have arrived on the continent by crossing a land bridge which connected Siberia to present day ______. | Alaska Explanation: Over 10,000 years ago, a slowly receding glacier left open a neck of land between Siberia and present-day Alaska. Waves of people made their way into America across this bridge before it was covered by ocean waters. |
| The Treaty of ___________, established in 1494, divided land between Spain and Portugal in the Americas. | Tordesillas Explanation: The Treaty of Tordesillas was agreed upon between Spain and Portugal in 1494. Originally the pope set the "Line of Demarcation" to split up the New World, but it was unfair to the Portuguese, so the two countries worked out their own line. |
| Spain used armies led by ______________ to conquer the Americas from the Indians. | Conquistadores Explanation: "Conquistadores" were Spanish adventurers who led soldiers in exploring and seizing American land. Often the European diseases they carried with them were more effective than their weapons in wiping out the Indians. |
| In 1513, _____________________, a Spanish conquistador, crossed the isthmus of Panama and became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. | Vasco Nunez de Balboa |
| Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish conquistador who explored and claimed _______ in 1513 (same year as Balboa discovered the Pacific). | Florida Explanation: Ponce de Leon searched for gold and the "fountain of youth," and in the process claimed Florida for Spain. |
| In 1519, _______________, a Spanish conquistador, led an army against the Aztec Indians of Mexico. | Hernando Cortes Explanation: Cortes led an expedition to conquer the Aztec Indians. He ended up wiping out the Aztec empire and getting substantial wealth. |
| Hernando de Soto led a ___-man expedition through the southeastern portion of North America. He was buried on the banks of the Mississippi River. | 600 Explanation: Hernando de Soto was a Spanish Conquistador and played a big role in broadening Spain's knowledge of North America. He landed in Florida in 1539 and led the largest expedition of the 16th and 17th century through the southeast and midwest of the present-day United States. |
| Francisco Vasquez de Coronado was a Spanish conquistador who started in ______, and explored what is now the southwestern United States. | Mexico Explanation: Coronado explored what is now the southwestern US. His men ended up being the first Europeans to see the Grand Canyon. He set out about the same time as de Soto; his goal was to find the "Seven Cities of Cibola," which were supposedly full of gold. |
| In 1497, __________, an Italian explorer, set out to find a Northwest Passage, and ended up claiming mainland North America for England. | John Cabot Explanation: John Cabot was looking for the Northwest Passage--a route to Asia going through the Americas. He found none, but ended up hitting mainland North America and claiming it for England. |
| In 1534, Jacques Cartier a French explorer, claimed portions of Canada for ______. | France Explanation: Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence river, hoping to find a Northwest Passage to Asia. He ended up claiming large portions of present day Canada for France. |
| The oldest city in North America is St _________, Florida. | St. Augustine Explanation: St. Augustine, in Florida, was originally built as a fort to protect Spanish land. |
| In 1588, Spain sent a mighty fleet, the Spanish ______, to conquer England. This fleet was destroyed by the English navy, and resulted in a war between England and Spain which lasted until 1604. | Armada |
| The _________ settlement in Virginia was financed by a group of English merchants who formed the London Company. | Jamestown Explanation: It was given a charter by the king to set up a colony in Virginia. Its goal was profit--not to set up an agricultural community, but a trading post which earned gold. |
| Sir ______________ started the first English settlement in North America on Roanoke Island, and named a portion of land "Virginia." | Sir Walter Raleigh Explanation: Sir Walter Raleigh named the mainland area he intended to colonize Virginia, but Roanoke Island was actually off the coast of present day North Carolina. Roanoke Island did not last long; it was found deserted when the leader returned from a trip to England. |
| The first permanent settlement in North America by the English was _________. It looked doomed to failure like previous attempts, had it not been for the leadership of John Smith. | Jamestown Explanation: Jamestown, Virginia, was the first permanent settlement by the English in North America. John Smith's leadership was key to its survival. |
| In 1612, __________ started growing Tobacco in Virginia, which became a huge cash crop, and motivated England to increase its attempts at settlement. | John Rolfe Explanation: John Rolfe discovered that tobacco grew well in Virginia. There was a lucrative market for tobacco in Europe, so this gave England a compelling reason to want to colonize America. |
| In an effort to encourage colonists to settle in Virginia, English settlers were promised the same rights as people in England--this resulted in the first representative assembly in America, the House of _________. | Burgesses Explanation: The House of Burgesses was the first representative assembly in the English colonies. |
| Indentured servants differed from slaves in that they were free after working for a specified period of time. Also, they had legal ______ that could be enforced in court, and there was no social stigma attached to this type of servitude. | Rights Explanation: Indentured servants were people who paid for their passage from Europe by agreeing to work without pay for a specified time period. Unlike slaves, they were free after fulfilling their contract, and had legal rights. Many settlers in Virginia and Maryland paid their way there by agreeing to work as indentured servants. |
| The French established a successful fur trade with the Indians in North America. In 1608, a French explorer named Samuel de Champlain established a trading post in ______, which was the beginning of "New France." | Quebec |
| In 1609, Holland sent ____________ to search for the Northwestern Passage through America to Asia. He ended up discovering a large river named after him. | Henry Hudson Explanation: Henry Hudson sailed to North America trying to find a Northwestern Passage. He ended up finding the Hudson River. The Dutch went on to establish a profitable fur trade on present-day Manhattan Island, which they named New Amsterdam. |
| In 1620, the ________ came from England in the Mayflower and settled Cape Cod, Massachusetts. | Pilgrims Explanation: The Pilgrims were originally known as the Separatists, left England for religious freedom, and settled Cape Cod, Massachusetts. |
| Founded in ____, the most important colony founded in the Massachusetts Bay area was the Massachusetts Bay Colony. | 1629 Explanation: The colony was founded by the Puritans and many of their democratic ideas heavily influenced other English speaking colonies. Many of the early colonists fled to America to escape the religious persecution of King James I. |
| The ________ settled Massachusetts in large numbers under the leadership of John Winthrop. | Puritans Explanation: The Puritans settled Massachusetts shortly after the Pilgrims. By 1642, there were over 20,000 puritan settlers. |
| The ________ who founded the New England colony did not believe in separation of church and state--they followed strict moral codes which were enforced by the government. | Puritans Explanation: The Puritans followed strict moral codes. Judges administered the laws of the colony and the rules of the church. Education was important to the Puritans, and they had a high literacy rate because every person needed to be able to read the Bible. |
| A puritan preacher, ______________, founded Providence, Rhode Island after being asked to leave Massachusetts for his disruptive activities. | Roger Williams Explanation: Roger Williams was a Puritan preacher who ended up fleeing from Massachusetts and founding Providence. He later combined Providence, Portsmouth and several other settlements to create Rhode Island. |
| Anne Hutchinson was banished from Massachusetts by the Puritans and ended up founding __________. | Portsmouth Explanation: Anne Hutchinson founded Portsmouth, in what is now Rhode Island. |
| In 1636, _____________ left Massachusetts and founded Hartford. | Thomas Hooker Explanation: Thomas Hooker led a group of settlers to found Hartford, in what is now Connecticut. |
| The _____________ colony was founded primarily to show the world how a proper Christian society should be. | Massachusetts Explanation: The Puritans settled Massachusetts with the intent of creating a model Christian community. Religious freedom was a secondary reason. |
| Roger William's colony, Rhode Island, was unique in that it granted complete religious __________. | Toleration |
| Pennsylvania was one of the colonies which did not have an established ______, and was known for its climate of freedom and diversity, with Quakers, Presbyterians, Catholics, and Jews settling there. | Church Explanation: Pennsylvania, founded by William Penn, was known for its complete religious freedom, as opposed to mere religious toleration. It was one of the four colonies which did not have an established church--the other three being New Jersey, Delaware, and Rhode Island. |
| ______________ believed that there should be no government interference with religion, and established Rhode Island. | Roger Williams Explanation: After being banished from New England, Roger Williams founded the Rhode Island colony. Part of the reason he was banned from New England was that he was outspoken on his belief that the government should not have control over religion. |
| ________ was founded as a refuge for English Catholics, and was a gift from the King of England to Lord Baltimore for his loyalty. | Maryland Explanation: Maryland was founded by Lord Baltimore, and guaranteed political rights to all Christians. |
| ________ was the first English colony founded for trade and profit instead of for religious reasons. | Virginia Explanation: Most of the earliest colonies were founded for religious reasons; Virginia was founded for trade and profit--primarily through the growth of tobacco. |
| The ______________ colony developed as an overflow from the Virginia colony. | North Carolina The North Carolina colony was founded by settlers who drifted down from Virginia. Originally, the Carolinas were one colony, but differences in interest and outlook resulted in two different colonies. |
| The ______________ colony was settled by emigrants from the overcrowded West Indies. They started Charleston, named after the King, and had rice as a cash crop. | South Carolina Explanation: The South Carolina colony was settled by emigrants from the West Indies. From the beginning, South Carolina had slavery as a fully developed institution. |
| The Dutch colony of _______________ was conquered by James, the Duke of York, the brother of King Charles II, and became New York. | New Netherlands Explanation: James, the Duke of York, conquered New Netherlands with little bloodshed. He renamed it New York. |
| The New Jersey colony was founded by two of the proprietors who _____ the Carolinas. | Owned New Jersey was founded when King James II granted a chunk of New York to two of the original Carolinas proprietors. |
| The ___________ colony had a significantly higher life expectancy and literacy rate than the other colonies. | New England The New England colony, predominantly Puritan, had a life expectancy 25-30 years higher than other colonists. They were also better educated. |
| In colonial times, black slaves were at the ______ of Southern society. | Bottom |
| By the early __________ century, black slaves outnumbered the white population of South Carolina. | Eighteenth Due to the large numbers of slaves imported, by the early 18th century, black slaves outnumbered the white population in South Carolina. There were a large number of slaves in the Chesapeake colonies as well, but South Carolina had the most since it was dominated by large populations. |
| The objective of British ____________ was to maximize the nation's wealth. | Mercantilism Explanation: British mercantilism, which is taken from the word "merchant," involved managing the economy, as opposed to allowing free markets, to maximize profits for Britain. |
| The __________ Acts passed by the British Parliament severely limited with who and how the colonies could trade. There were four parts to these Acts, passed between 1651 and 1673. | Navigation Explanation: The Navigation Acts were passed, limiting who the colonies could trade with. It drove down the price of American goods, and raised the price of British goods, angering the colonists. |
| Under the Navigation Acts, certain products could be shipped only to England. At the same time, the colonies gained an advantage in the British market for many of these products, to include iron, raw silk, hemp, and _____ stores (i.e. masts, tar, pitch). | Naval Explanation: Iron, raw silk, hemp, and naval stores are examples of some items for which Great Britain gave the colonies a market advantage. Naval stores include items such as masts, yards, bowsprits, etc.--the northern colonies were known for their shipbuilding. |
| In 1676, England sent troops and ships to Virginia as a result of Bacon's _________, led by Nathaniel Bacon. | Rebellion Explanation: Bacon's Rebellion was started by Nathaniel Bacon. He ended up dying of dysentery, but as a result England sent troops to Virginia, and tried to run the colony more strictly. |
| In 1675, around 2000 settlers were killed by Indians in what is known as King _______'s War. | Phillip Explanation: King Phillip's War, led by Wampanoag chief King Phillip, resulted in the death of around 2000 settlers. |
| King _____ II had a plan to create a unified government for New England, New York, and New Jersey, which he planned on calling the Dominion of New England. | James Explanation: This was to be called the Dominion of New England, and would get rid of the representative assemblies currently in those colonies, and would impose the Church of England on the Puritans. |
| A total of 20 people were killed in the Salem _____ Trials in Salem Village. | Witch Explanation: Twenty people were executed before Puritan ministers could intervene. |
| Pennsylvania was founded as a refuge for a group of people called the _______, who wanted to escape persecution for their beliefs. | Quakers Explanation: Pennsylvania was founded as a refuge for the Quakers by William Penn. Penn received the land for Pennsylvania from King Charles and personally worked to maintain peaceful relations with the local Indians. |
| King _______'s War, which was mainly fought in Europe did result in raids by Indians. It eventually was resolved with the Treaty of Ryswick. | William Explanation: King William's War in 1689 was primarily fought in Europe, and lasted 8 years. |
| __________'s War, started in 1702 against France and Spain, gave Britain major territorial gains and trade advantages. It was ended with the Treaty of Utrecht. | Queen Anne Explanation: Queen Anne's War was started in 1702, and lasted 11 years. |
| In 1739, King George's War was fought with France and Spain, and was the first of England's wars in which the colonist troops played a major role. It was ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-________. | Chapelle Explanation: King George's War lasted nine years, and thousands of colonial troops were killed fighting the French. |
| The Georgia colony was founded in 1732 to act as a buffer between South Carolina and Florida. It was to be settled by the debtors and paupers who filled English _____. | Jails Explanation: General James Oglethorpe founded the Georgia colony, which ended up being a lot like South Carolina. |
| Prior to the American Revolution, Tobacco from the __________ region accounted for nearly half of Britain's trade with the colonies. | Chesapeake Explanation: Before the cotton gin, tobacco was the most profitable crop to grow in America, and accounted for nearly half of the colonies' exports. Before the American Revolution, due to the Navigation Acts, the colonies were not allowed to export products to countries other than Britain. |
| The headright system was implemented by the London Company in Virginia to stimulate ___________. Every head of family already in Virginia received 50 acres of land, and 50 acres of land was given to every person who came to the colony. | Immigration Explanation: This was known as the "headright" system. The London Company owned the charter for Virginia, and hoped to populate its colony without expense by offering the one resource it had plenty of--land. |
| In the 18th century, an intellectual movement was occurring in Europe, centered around the concept of ___________. This movement was known as the Enlightenment. | Rationalism Explanation: The Enlightenment movement was embraced by some Americans, and one of the most famous American followers was Ben Franklin. |
| An English philosopher during the "Enlightenment" came up with a set of natural laws, saying that governments who did not provide the rights of life, liberty, and property could be __________. His name was John Locke. | Overthrown Explanation: John Locke came up with this "law of nature," which many Americans equated with the universal law of God. |
| The author of Poor Richard's _______ was Benjamin Franklin, and it contained bits of wisdom and humor. | Almanac |
| From the 1720's the 1740's a movement known as the Great _________ occurred in the colonies, resulting in the founding of some Ivy League Schools and a division in the religious community between "Old Lights", and "New Lights." | Awakening Explanation: The Great Awakening was a time of religious revivals, and resulted in a division in the religious community. |
| The French and Indian War was started in 1754 when George Washington was ordered to lead militiamen to expel the French settling in Western ____________. | Pennsylvania Explanation: The French and Indian War lasted seven years, and was known as the "Seven Year's War" in Europe. |
| The French and Indian War resulted in France losing all of its lands in North America, and expanded _______'s holdings to include Canada and the lands east of the Mississippi River. | Britain Explanation: The French and Indian War, ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris resulted in enormous expansion of England's land holdings in North America. |
| In 1763, George Grenville became prime minister of England, and was the first in a string of English leaders who ________ the colonists to the point of the Revolutionary war. | Agitated Explanation: George Grenville passed laws through Parliament such as the Sugar Act, the Proclamation of 1763, and the Stamp Act. |
| The Sugar Act of 1764 was the _____ act passed by the English Parliament to raise tax revenues in the American colonies. The purpose of the new revenue was to pay off the English debts incurred during the French and Indian War. | First Explanation: George Grenville pushed the Sugar Act through Parliament in 1764. It required high taxes be paid on goods imported into the colonies including molasses and sugar. Additionally the Act complicated the shipment of colonial goods requiring ship's captains to fill out a variety of confusing forms, the failure to do so resulting in the entire cargo being subject to seizure. Also, the Sugar Act ignored traditional government protections for a fair trial. Americans suspected of smuggling were no longer to be tried by a jury of their peers and instead were tried by judges of the Royal Admiralty. These British judges would receive five percent of any confiscated cargo and therefore were very motivated to find suspects guilty. |
| The Proclamation of 1763, passed by George Grenville, did not allow settlers to move west of the ____________. | Appalachians Explanation: The Proclamation of 1763 forbade settlers from moving west of the Appalachians, and was supposed to appease the Indians, who were constantly attacking settlers and costing England a lot of money. |
| The ________ Act of 1764 made it illegal for the colonies to issue paper money and required taxes be paid in gold or silver, also known as "specie". | Currency Explanation: Specie means "hard money" and in the time of the American colonies it usually meant silver but it could also mean gold. |
| The _____ Act passed in 1765 was the first tax imposed directly on the Americans, and required them to purchase revenue stamps for practically anything they purchased. | Stamp Explanation: The Stamp Act, passed because of George Grenville, was one of the significant things that England did which made the colonists angry and suspicious. |
| Samuel Adams formed the Sons of _______ to resist English tyranny as a result of the Stamp Act and other unfair laws. | Liberty |
| Grenville was replaced with Lord Rockingham, who repealed the hated Stamp Act, and passed the ___________ Act, which stated that England had the right to impose any laws or taxes on the colonies. | Declaratory Explanation: The Declaratory Act was aimed at the Americans' complaints of "taxation without representation." Most Americans, happy with the repeal of the Stamp Act, ignored the Declaratory Act. |
| George Grenville was replaced by Lord Rockingham, who was quickly replaced by Charles Townshend, who passed the Townshend Acts. What was known as the Boston ________ occurred soon after. | Massacre Explanation: Charles Townshend had Parliament pass what was known as the Townshend Acts, which was another attempt by England to impose taxes on the colonists. Many colonists resisted, and five Bostonians were killed in the "Boston Massacre." |
| Charles Townshend was replaced by Lord North, and all taxes were repealed except for the tax on tea. Relations settled down between the colonists and England until the ___ Act of 1773. | Tea Explanation: The Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773. This lowered the cost of British tea, making it cheaper than smuggled tea even though it was taxed. This resulted in the Boston Tea Party, where Bostonians dressed as Indians boarded a British merchant ship and threw the tea overboard. |
| Under the Navigation Acts, England had a ________ over the American colonies' shipping. | Monopoly Explanation: The Navigation Acts were meant to make the colonies and parent country dependent on each other--foreign vessels could not trade with English colonies, English vessels had a monopoly over all colonial shipping, and for certain products, the colonies could only trade with England, and the English merchants could only purchase these products from the colonies. |
| The Boston _________ was Boston's response to the Tea Act of 1773, and involved people dressed as Indians boarding a British merchant ship and dumping the tea overboard. | Tea Party Explanation: The Boston Tea Party was organized by the Sons of Liberty, who dressed as Indians and dumped thousands of dollars worth of tea into the ocean. |
| The Tea Act gave the British __________ Company a monopoly on all tea shipped to America, allowing the East India Company to charge prices lower than the tea smuggled in by colonial merchants. | East India Explanation: The Tea Act, also known as the East India Company Act, resulted in the Boston Tea Party as Americans resisted buying British tea. In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts. |
| The British response to the Boston Tea Party in the form of ____ acts was known by the Americans as the Intolerable Acts. | Five Explanation: The colonists called the Quebec Act and the four acts passed in response to the Boston Tea Party the "Intolerable Acts." |
| In response to the Coercive Acts, which the colonists called the Intolerable Acts, the First ___________ Congress met in Philadelphia in September 1774. | Continental Explanation: The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and tried to negotiate with Parliament, in addition to calling for the colonists to boycott and to prepare local militias to respond to possible use of military force by the English. |
| The Continental Congress of 1774 resulted in the adoption of the _______ Resolves which declared the Intolerable Acts unconstitutional. | Suffolk Explanation: Additionally, the Suffolk Resolves created a colonial association to enforce the non-importation boycott. |
| The Intolerable Acts placed the Massachusetts colony under military rule and forced colonists to provide food and housing for the ________ who ruled them. | Soldiers Explanation: These were two of the main acts in the five acts known as the Intolerable Acts. In response to the Intolerable Acts, the First Continental Congress met to assert American rights and demand repeal of the Intolerable Acts. |
| The First Continental Congress was created in answer to the Intolerable Acts. England decided to ______ this Congress, however, and marched on Concord, starting the Revolutionary War. | Ignore Explanation: They marched on Concord, Massachusetts, intending to destroy a stockpile of colonial arms. The arms were gone, but a skirmish between colonial militia and the British broke out. This was the beginning of the Revolutionary War. |
| The _________ battle of the war was fought at Bunker Hill, on June 17, 1775. Over one thousand British soldiers were killed or wounded. | Bloodiest Explanation: The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought when the Americans fortified a hill from which they planned to bombard the British troops who were occupying Boston. The British lost over a thousand men trying to seize control of this hill. |
| In May, 1775, the ______ Continental Congress met, making a final plea to King George to intercede and restore peace. It also put George Washington in command of the New England army surrounding Boston. | Second Explanation: The Second Continental Congress met in May 1775. The "Olive Branch Petition" was their attempt to get King George to come up with a peaceful solution to the conflict. |
| In January 1776, ____________ wrote Common Sense, a pamphlet arguing for complete independence. | Thomas Paine Explanation: Common Sense argued for complete independence, and is considered to have swayed thousands of Americans who had half-formed feelings about going to war with Britain. At around the same time, in March of 1776, Abigail Adams was pushing for the rights of women to not be forgotten. Though Abigail Adams did not disagree with women's limited role for the most part, she did believe that they deserved some rights. The most important rights that she wanted for women were the rights to education, as well as legal and political rights. In a letter to John Adams in 1776, she told him, "Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation." |
| The Prohibitory Act by England was virtually a declaration of ___ on America, by declaring the colonies in rebellion. | War Explanation: The Prohibitory Act was declared by England as they made preparation for all out war against the colonies. |
| Early in the Revolutionary War, Fort ___________ was captured by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold. | Ticonderoga |
