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American History

A: Colonial Period and Independence

  1. What is one reason colonists came to America?
  1. What is one reason colonists came to America?
  • freedom
  • political liberty
  • religious freedom
  • economic opportunity
  • practice their religion
  • escape persecution

  1. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
  1. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
  • American Indians
  • Native Americans

  1. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
  1. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
  • Africans
  • people from Africa

  1. Why did the colonists fight the British?
  1. Why did the colonists fight the British?
  • because of high taxes (taxation without representation)
  • because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)
  • because they didn’t have self-government

  1. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
  1. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
  • (Thomas) Jefferson

  1. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
  1. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
  • July 4, 1776

  1. There were 13 original states. Name three.
  1. There were 13 original states. Name three.
  • New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia

  1. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
  1. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
  • The Constitution was written.
  • The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution.

  1. When was the Constitution written?
  1. When was the Constitution written?
  • 1787

  1. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
  1. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
  • (James) Madison
  • (Alexander) Hamilton
  • (John) Jay
  • Publius

  1. What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
  1. What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
  • U.S. diplomat
  • oldest member of the Constitutional Convention
  • first Postmaster General of the United States
  • writer of “Poor Richard’s Almanac”
  • started the first free libraries

  1. Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
  1. Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
  • (George) Washington

  1. Who was the first President?
  1. Who was the first President?
  • (George) Washington

B: 1800s

  1. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
  1. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
  • the Louisiana Territory
  • Louisiana

  1. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
  1. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
  • War of 1812
  • Mexican-American War
  • Civil War
  • Spanish-American War

  1. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
  1. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
  • the Civil War
  • the War between the States

  1. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
  1. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
  • slavery
  • economic reasons
  • states’ rights

  1. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?
  1. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?
  • freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
  • saved (or preserved) the Union
  • led the United States during the Civil War

  1. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
  1. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
  • freed the slaves
  • freed slaves in the Confederacy
  • freed slaves in the Confederate states
  • freed slaves in most Southern states

  1. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
  1. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
  • fought for women’s rights
  • fought for civil rights

C: Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information

  1. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
  1. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
  • World War I
  • World War II
  • Korean War
  • Vietnam War
  • (Persian) Gulf War

  1. Who was President during World War I?
  1. Who was President during World War I?
  • (Woodrow) Wilson

  1. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
  1. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
  • (Franklin) Roosevelt

  1. Who did the United States fight in World War II?
  1. Who did the United States fight in World War II?
  • Japan, Germany, and Italy

  1. Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?
  1. Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?
  • World War II

  1. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
  1. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
  • Communism

  1. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
  1. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
  • civil rights (movement)

  1. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?
  1. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?
  • fought for civil rights
  • worked for equality for all Americans

  1. What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?
  1. What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?
  • Terrorists attacked the United States.

  1. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
  1. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
  • Cherokee, Navajo, Sioux, Chippewa, Choctaw, Pueblo, Apache, Iroquois, Creek, Blackfeet, Seminole, Cheyenne, Arawak, Shawnee, Mohegan, Huron, Oneida, Lakota, Crow, Teton, Hopi, Inuit

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