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The History of the U.S.A. part 1
From the beginning to the end of the American War of Independence
1. Where did the Amerindians come from?
They crossed the Pacific from Asia
They were hunters from Siberia
They came from South America
2. Where did the Pueblo live, and what did they do for their living?
In Montana. They were farmers
In Texas. They were hunters and gatherers, occasionally raiding their neighbours
In Arizona and New Mexico. The Pueblo were farmers
3. Who were the Apache, and how did they live?
In Arizona and New Mexico. The Apaches were farmers
In Texas. They were hunters and gatherers, occasionally raiding their neighbours
In Montana. They were farmers
4. Do you find any similarities between the Iroquois and the Spartans of ancient Greece?
Both the Iroquois and the Spartans were fierce warriers
Both the Iroquois and the Spartans were mostly occupied with farming
Both the Iroquois and the Spartans were skilled surgeons
5. "Dakota" and "Sioux" are two very different names of the same people. What do they mean?
"Dakota" means "ally", "Sioux" means "enemy"
"Dakota" means "friend", "Sioux" means "enemy"
"Dakota" means "enemy", "Sioux" means "foreigner"
6. What did the Sioux depend upon for their living?
Corn
Wild cattle
The buffalo
7. Describe a “tepee”
It is a cone-shaped tent
It is a mud hut
It is a town built on the top of a cliff
8. Only one incidence of Atlantic crossing before Columbus has been recorded. Which one?
The voyage of the Vikings of Norway in about AD 1000 (Leif Erikson)
The voyage of the Buddhist monk Hoei-Shin in AD 459
The voyage of the Irish monk Brendan the Bold in AD 551
9. What did the sailor above call the new world, and why?
Eire (the green land)
Gam saan haak (the land of gold)
Vinland the Good
10. When did Columbus arrive in America, and how did America get its name??
In 1441. It was named after Americo Valparaiso, a friend of Columbus
In 1492. It was named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci
In 1493. It was named after Ameriga Vespucci, the mistress of Columbus at that time
11. What is the name of the oldest city in North America and where is it?
Jamestown, Virginia
St. Augustine, Florida
Miami, Florida
12. Why did France send its first explorer to America?
To find gold and a new sea route to Asia
To find Amerindian fur-trade partners
To establish a French colony in the New World
13. What is the name of the first lasting English settlement in America and where is it situated? (state)
St. Augustine, Florida
Jamestown, Virginia
Roanoke Island, North Carolina
14. Who was Pocahontas?
The daughter of an Amerindian chief. She helped to save the starving English settlers
An Amerindian warrior who raided the English colonies
A famous Amerindian fur-trader helping the English settlers to cross the Appalachian mountains
15. Which product made Virginia prosper?
Cotton
Tobacco
Sugar
16. How did they get labour to the early plantations?
They used Amerindian slaves
They used slaves From Africa
They used indentured labour from England
17. How did the first African slaves arrive in Virginia?
On board a Spanish ship coming from Cuba
On board a Dutch warship
On board a French slaver coming from Martinique
18. Who were the Pilgrim Fathers and where in America did they land?
A group of people seeking political freedom in America - considered to be the most important of the founders of the future United States of America - they landed at Manhattan island, New York - on board the Mayflower
A group of people seeking political freedom in America - considered to be the most important of the founders of the future United States of America - they landed at Roanoke Island, North Carolina - on board the Mayflower
A group of people seeking religious freedom in America - considered to be the most important of the founders of the future United States of America - they landed at Cape Cod, Massachusetts - on board the Mayflower
19. What was “the Mayflower Compact”?
A document signed by all the men on board the Mayflower in which they agreed to work together and for the good of all
A document signed by all the men on board the Mayflower and the chiefs of the local Amerindian tribes in which they agreed to live in peace and help each other
A document signed by all the men in Salem in which they agreed to work together and for the good of all
20. What was so special about the new colony called “Rhode Island”?
It promised its citizens religious freedom and separation of church and state
It promised its citizens religious freedom within the frame of Christianity
It did not promise its citizens religious freedom but wanted separation of church and state
21. What is really “Thanksgiving”?
A celebration in memory of the day the Mayflower landed at Cape Cod
A celebration in memory of the first day the Pilgrims had turkey for dinner
A celebration in memory of the Pilgrims' first year in America
22. What did the Amerindians misunderstand with regard to land transactions?
They claimed their right to own the land in America and didn't understand why they should sell it to the settlers
They believed that land belonged to all men and could not understand how it was possible to buy and sell it
They thought the European immigrants were going to adopt their way of living and did not see any danger in selling them the land
23. What was the American “frontier”?
The borderline between the most remote European settlements and the homelands of the Amerindians
The borderline between British and French possessions in North America
The borderline between British and Spanish possessions in North America
24. What did strengthen the feeling of equality and voluntarism among the settlers?
The war against Britain
Farms could be separated by miles of unsettled land. People mostly had to manage by themselves and help each other out when there was an urgent need (ref. Norwegian 'dugnad')
The common belief in the values stated by the Declaration of Independence
25. Who was Daniel Boone, and what did he do?
He was the most famous American explorer and the leader of the Boston Tea Party
He was a hunter and explorer helping settlers through a natural pass in the Appalachians
He was a famous path finder who was in charge of the Minutemen at Lexington
26. What was “Louisiana”?
The territory which is the state of Louisiana today
A huge territory which stretched across the center of the continent including all the lands being drained by the Mississippi River and its tributaries
All the French possessions in North America.
27. Where did some settlers from Holland found a colony called New Netherlands in the 1620s?
They founded their colony in Pennsylvania. They wanted a place where they could have religious freedom.
In the Boston area
At the mouth of the Hudson River where you find the City of New York today
28. When was the Seven Years War (the French and Indian War), and how did it affect conditions in North America?
From 1775 to 1783. France gave up its claim to Canada
From 1756 to 1763. France gave up its claim to Canada and to all of North America east of the Mississippi River
From 1724 to 1731. France gave up its claim to the Louisiana territory
29. Why did the British want to tax the colonists, and how did they react to that?
They wanted the colonists to pay some of the expences of the war against the French. The colonists objected heavily.
They wanted the colonists to pay some of the expences of the war against the Amerindians. At first the colonists objected, but gradually they accepted the taxation.
They wanted the colonists to pay some of the expences of the exploration of the territories west of the Appalachian mountains. The colonists objected heavily.
30. What was the Stamp Act, and why was it introduced?
The colonists had to use British stamps on their letters, and the act was introduced to pay for the presence of British troops in the colonies
The colonists could only export products marked with a special stamp to Britain. The act was introduced to pay for the building of a new royal palace in London
The colonists had to buy special tax stamps and attach them to newspapers, licenses, and legal papers such as wills and mortgages. The act was introduced to raise money to pay for the defence of the colonies.
31. What was the most famous slogan during the late 1760s and the early 1770s with regard to British taxes? Explain the background!
Liberty, brotherhood and equality
No taxation without representation
Englishmen - go home!
32. What was the “Boston Tea Party”?
An attack on British merchant ships in Boston in 1773 during which the cargo, tea, was thrown into the sea as a protest against British aggression in India
A meeting between the British and American political leaders in one of Boston's famous tea houses
An attack on British merchant ships in Boston in 1773 during which the cargo, tea, was thrown into the sea as a protest against British taxes
33. How did the American Revolution (the American War of Independence) start?
It started as a result of the famous "Boston Tea Party"
American 'minutemen' (militia) attacked British soldiers in Lexington in 1775
It started when the British soldiers raided Concorde in 1775
34. Who was the commander-in-chief of the American army?
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Jefferson
George Washington
35. What is the “Declaration of Independence”, and when was it proclaimed?
The most important document in American history. It was proclaimed on July 4th, 1776
A 1791 amendment to the Constitution
It is the American Constitution of 1789
36. Which one is the correct extract from the Declaration of Independence? “We hold...”
...these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; ...
...these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and equality; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; ...
...these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and equality; that, to secure these rights, kings are instituted among men; ...
37. What were the most important ideas of the Declaration?
Everybody should be able to do whatever they wanted as long as they did not hurt anybody
Individual freedom and a political system of elected representatives instead of the hereditary power of kings, etc.
The introduction of a system of referendum open for all citizens over the age of 20
38. Who wrote "The Declaration of Independence"?
Thomas Jefferson
George Washington
George Hamilton
39. Which British political thinker did influence the Declaration heavily?
Jeremy Bentham
John Stuart Mill
John Locke
40. When and where did finally Britain recognize her former colonies in North America as an independent nation?
In the Treaty of London in 1785
In the Treaty of Paris in 1783
In the Treaty of Geneva in 1781