WorksheetsEarly Colonial Governments
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 38mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
Which was the first permanent settlement in the new world?
a)
Roanoke
b)
Plymouth
c)
Jamestown
d)
St. Augustine
2.
What was the real purpose for the colonies?
a)
To enrich the British
b)
To build slavery
c)
To maintain religious tolerance
d)
To help poor English settlers
3.
Use the excerpt to answer the question that follows.
. . . I know that the Colonies in general owe little or nothing to any care of ours, and
that they are not squeezed into this happy form by the constraints of watchful and
suspicious government, but that, through a wise and salutary neglect, a generous
nature has been suffered to take her own way to perfection . . . .
—Edmund Burke, “On Moving . . . for Conciliation with the Colonies,” 1775
Edmund Burke was a member of the British Parliament who wanted to avoid war with the American colonists. Which statement would he most likely support?
. . . I know that the Colonies in general owe little or nothing to any care of ours, and
that they are not squeezed into this happy form by the constraints of watchful and
suspicious government, but that, through a wise and salutary neglect, a generous
nature has been suffered to take her own way to perfection . . . .
—Edmund Burke, “On Moving . . . for Conciliation with the Colonies,” 1775
Edmund Burke was a member of the British Parliament who wanted to avoid war with the American colonists. Which statement would he most likely support?
a)
. Great Britain should copy colonial institutions of government.
b)
The colonies would be better governed directly under British rule.
c)
Colonists have governed themselves well without British interference.
d)
Larger colonies should be made smaller to make them easier to govern.
4.
Which of the following statements is a correct description of the Mayflower Compact?
a)
The men on board the Mayflower bound themselves into a “civic body politic.”
b)
The Pilgrims practiced an early and pure form of democracy
c)
The Mayflower Compact applied just to the non-Pilgrims on board the Mayflower
d)
None of the above.
5.
Why did the Pilgrims create the Mayflower Compact?
a)
to show that they opposed representative government.
b)
to establish an orderly community
c)
to reinforce the laws of England in the new colony
d)
to guarantee universal religious tolerance in the colony
6.
a)
A
b)
B
c)
C
d)
D
7.
During American colonization who were the colonies ruled by?
a)
colonists
b)
English kings
c)
the president
8.
What is the House of Burgesses?
a)
The first legislative assembly of elected representatives in the American colonies.
b)
The first group of elected representatives to leave the colonies.
c)
The first house that was built in Jamestown, Virginia.
9.
What was the purpose of a town meeting?
a)
to hire new colonists for new jobs
b)
to help solve issues (problems) of the colonists
c)
to catch up on all of the town gossip
10.
Permission to create a legislative body in the colony of Virginia was granted in the
a)
United States Constitution
b)
Charters from the King of England
c)
Declaration of Independence
d)
Ship's log of the Susan Constant
11.
In 1619, only __________ were considered citizens and could elect burgesses.
a)
men and women
b)
adult white men
c)
male slaves
d)
First Americans
12.
By the 1640's, the meeting of two citizen representatives with the governor and the council became a separate legislative body called the Virginia
a)
House of Burgesses
b)
House of Delegates
c)
Senate
d)
Government
13.
Which of the following documents limited the power of the King of England?
a)
English Bill of Rights
b)
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
c)
Magna Carta
d)
Mayflower Compact
14.
Which of the following documents extended voting rights to non-church members?
a)
Mayflower Compact
b)
Magna Carta
c)
Virginia House of Burgesses
d)
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
15.
In 1620, the Mayflower Compact was created to promote ________________ within Plymouth.
a)
a representative assembly
b)
peace and harmony
c)
self-expression
d)
self-government
16.
_______________________ was the first written colonial constitution.
a)
The Mayflower Compact
b)
The Fundamental Orders of Massachsetts
c)
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
d)
The Declaration Of Independence
17.
In the Colonial Era, developments such as the New England town meetings and the establishment of the Virginia House of Burgesses represented
a)
colonial attempts to build a strong national government
b)
efforts by the British to strengthen their control over the colonies
c)
steps in the growth of representative democracy
d)
early social reform movements
18.
Which of the following lead Colonists to establish representative governments:
a)
A distance from England
b)
Traditional Rights of Englishmen
c)
A need to make laws
d)
All of the answers are correct.
19.
The type of Government where elected delegates represent the people.
a)
Democracy
b)
Representative
c)
Theocracy
d)
Monarchy
20.
Mercantilism is when a country builds its wealth by this system.
a)
Allowing free trade in its colonies
b)
Bartering with other countries
c)
The government monitors all trade
d)
The colonies are only allowed to trade with the mother country
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