Study Guide

Semester 1 '09 Study Guide


1. Which idea that we use was developed by the ancient Romans? (gov’t)
2. What is the prevailing view about how people first reached the Americas?
3. How did the voyages of Christopher Columbus differ from earlier voyages to the Americas?
4. In the 1500’s, what was happening in regards to European rulers and religion?
5. Western European nations sent explorers in search of a northwest passage to find _____.
6. What was the purpose of the Mayflower Compact?
7. What was the historical significance of the Virginia House of Burgesses?
8. Why did the Puritans leave England to go to Massachusetts?
9. Which colony was founded by a Quaker as a model of religious freedom and peace?
10. Which group first settled the colony of Maryland to escape persecution in England?
11. What was the purpose of colonial New England town meetings?
12. What was a result of the Southern Colonies’ reliance on slave labor in the 1700s?
13. What conflict led to the French and Indian War?
14. How were British troops able to surprise and defeat the French at Quebec?
15. What reason did Parliament give for raising taxes in the colonies after 1763?
16. How did Britain punish Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party?
17. Why did fighting break out at Lexington and Concord in April 1775?
18. What immediate action did the Second Continental Congress take in response to the fighting at Lexington and Concord?
19. When Richard Henry Lee said that he was now “convinced of the necessity of separation,” he was describing the influence of which publication?
20. Which idea of John Locke is in the Declaration of Independence?
21. What are the three main ideas in the Declaration of Independence?
22. What advantage helped the Continental Army gain control of Boston in 1776?
23. Which battle became a turning point of the war because it prompted the French to join the Patriots?
24. How did Britain try to persuade enslaved African Americans to join their army?
25. How did John Paul Jones become a Patriot hero?
26. What was the final battle of the Revolutionary War?
27. What crucial mistake did British General Cornwallis make that led to the defeat of the British army?
28. What were some weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
29. To become a state according to the Northwest Ordinance, a territory had to have ___.
30. How did Americans react to the violence of Shays’ Rebellion?
31. What were two reasons individual states wrote constitutions?
32. What did the Founding Fathers learn from Roman teachers Cincinnatus and Cicero?
33. Which Enlightenment writer expressed the idea that the relationship between government and the people it governs is a social contract?
34. & 35. What were the provisions of the Great Compromise?
36. How many states had to ratify the Constitution before it could become law?
37. Which group argued against the Constitution, wanting more states’ rights and a Bill of Rights?
38. In the Constitution, what fraction of the slaves in a state was included when determining representation in Congress?
39. How did the Bill of Rights become part of the Constitution?


Boston Colonists, December 16, 1773
“Boston harbor is a teapot tonight! The Mohawks are come!”

40. To what historical event does this quotation refer?
41. What clue about the colonists’ intentions is revealed in this quotation?
42. Why did the colonists say “The Mohawks are come!”?
43. What was the goal of the colonists quoted above?
Patriot Advantages British Advantages
• Washington’s leadership • well-trained troops
• fighting for their homes • world’s best navy
• ____________ • ____________________
44. Which of these items would BEST fit under “Patriot Advantages” in the chart?
45. Which additional item would BEST fit under the heading “British Advantages” in the chart?
Diary, Albigence Waldo, December 14, 1777
“I am sick—discontented—and out of humor. Poor
food—hard lodging—cold weather—fatigue—nasty
clothes—nasty cookery . . .”


46. To which historical event is Albigence Waldo most likely referring?



47. What could be printed under “Both” in the Virginia and New Jersey Plans Venn diagram?
48. Why did small states favor the New Jersey Plan?
49. What compromise resolved the conflict between the New Jersey and Virginia Plans?
50. What else could appear under the New Jersey Plan in the diagram?