United States History Exam

The purpose of Columbus's voyage(s) was...

The result of Columbus's voyage(s) was...


In 1606, some 105 adventurers set off from England to try and establish the first permanent English colony in the New World. They settled in what is now the state of Virginia and called their colony first James Fort, and then J __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __, in honor of James I, the King of England. The early years of the colony were nearly a total disaster. Almost half of the settlers died due to poor choices in settlement location, management of resources, and quarrels with the indigenous Powhatan Indians.The winter of 1609-10, known as the "STARVING TIME," may have been the worst of all. Disease and hunger ravaged J __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __. Two desperate colonists were tied to posts and left to starve as punishment for raiding the colonies' stores. One colonist even took to cannibalism, eating his own wife.


Some 100 people, many of them seeking religious freedom in the New World, set sail from England on the Mayflower in September 1620. That November, the ship landed on the shores of Cape Cod, in present-day Massachusetts. A scouting party was sent out, and in late December the group landed at Plymouth Harbor, where they would form the first permanent settlement of Europeans in New England. These original settlers of Plymouth Colony are known as the 
P __ __ __ __ __ __ __.

Taxation and other issues continued to build tension between Britain and the colonies. The tension between the colonists and the British soldiers peaked in Boston. The townspeople resented the soldiers and treated them poorly, often harassing them verbally and physically. On the night of March 5, 1770, tensions burst. This event is known as the 
B __ __ __ __ __   M __ __ __ __ __ __ __.


Angry and frustrated at a new tax on t __ __  , American colonists calling themselves the  S __ __ __   of Liberty and disguised as
Mohawk Native Americans boarded three British ships (the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver) and dumped 342 whole crates of British tea into B __ __ __ __ __   harbor on December 16, 1773.


C __ __ __ __ __  Sense, written by Thomas Paine was the most popular pamphlet in colonial America. It was the first pamphlet to make the bold claim that the colonies should separate themselves from British control.


Thomas Jefferson wrote the 
D __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __  of 
I __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ . The opening words were: 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 _______________,  ______________, and the pursuit of _______________.


The main purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to announce the colonies separation from _________________.  It also stated the principles that were the foundation for seeking independence.


The Structure of the Constitution:
P__ __ __ __ __ __ __
A__ __ __ __ __ __ __ (7)
B__ __ __ of R__ __ __ __ __ (1-10)
A__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ (11-27)

Civil War Amendments: 13, ____, ____
Voting Amendments: 15, ____, ____

Life for slaves was filled with many hardships. List three ways slaves resisted their treatment.

What was the greatest fear of southern plantation owners?

True or False? Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase of 1803 doubled the size of the United States.

True or False? The Lewis and Clark expedition began in May, 1804.

What were two goals of the expedition?

What would you take with you on your voyage? (enough food for the two year trip or plenty of paper?)

Who was Charbonneau's teenage bride who undertook most of the voyage?

How did various Native American tribes help along the way?

M __ __ __ __ __ __ t   Destiny - fate or purpose in settling all of North America, became a slogan for expansionists.


On October 1, 1838, the first group of C h __ __ __ __ __ __ __  
set out on what came to be called the 
T __ __ __ __  of T __ __ __ __.   
Four thousand died of hunger, thirst, sickness, or exposure to the elements in the stockades or on the brutal march westward.


In 19th and early 20th century America, women had very few rights. For example, women couldn't ____________________ or _____________________ or _____________________.


List four examples of how some courageous women tried to improve the condition of women in the United States.


True or False? Women's work in the abolitionist movement helped inspire a movement for women's equality.


The first women's rights convention in history took place in S __ __ __ __ __  Falls, New York in 1848. The two organizers of the convention were Elizabeth Cady S__ __ __ __ __ n  and Lucretia Mott.


In February 1848, Mexico and the United States signed the Treaty of G__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __   Hidalgo.  In the treaty, Mexico gave the entire Southwest and California to the United States. It also agreed that the border between the United States and Mexico would be the 
R __ __   G__ __ __ __ __.  The United States agreed to pay Mexico $15 million in return.




Harriet Tubman made nineteen dangerous trips back into slave territory, 
helping slaves escape on the U __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __  Railroad.



True or False? The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it easier for slave owners to recapture runaway slaves even after they had fled to the Northern states.



Briefly discuss the impact of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. (1852)


True or False? The Supreme Court declared in 1857 that the slave Dred Scott, even though he had lived for some time in free territories, could not sue for his freedom because he was property, not a person.


What happened at Harper's Ferry? (1859)


True or False? When Lincoln was elected president in 1860, seven Southern states seceded, or left the Union.


On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the 
E __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __  Proclamation, 
freeing slaves in areas that were fighting against the Union.


True or False? The Civil War was one of the bloodiest conflicts in history up to that time. It killed 600,000 people out of a population of 30 million.