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US History Pretest

Total questions: 25

Worksheet time: 25mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Where was the first English settlement in what is now the United States?

a)

Plymouth Rock

b)

Saint Augustine

c)

Kingston, Jamaica

d)

Jamestown

2.

Who was the group that came aboard the Mayflower in 1620 and established a colony at Plymouth, Massachusetts?

a)

the Pilgrims

b)

the Anglicans

c)

the Conquistadors

d)

the Huguenots

3.

What were the Pilgrims fleeing in England?

a)

high taxation

b)

religious persecution

c)

famine

d)

a sassy King James I

4.

The French and Indian War was fought primarily between whom?

a)

the British and Iroquois tribe

b)

the French and British

c)

the United States and British

d)

the French and Indians

5.

At the end of the French and Indian War, what did the Proclamation of 1763 do?

a)

Limited European settlement in North America to east of the Appalachian Mountains

b)

Brought all French colonies east of the Mississippi River under British control

c)

Raised taxes on the American colonists to pay for the British war debt

d)

Gave independence to Canada

6.

What British law taxed all printed paper products in the American colonies?

a)

Townshed Act

b)

Navigation Act

c)

Intolerable Act

d)

Stamp Act

7.

What famous protest was carried out by the Sons of Liberty in Boston in 1773?

a)

the Boston Massacre

b)

the Boston Tea Party

c)

"Occupy Boston"

d)

the Battle of Lexington

8.

Which 1776 document includes the words "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..."

a)

the Constitution

b)

the Bill of Rights

c)

the Emancipation Proclamation

d)

the Declaration of Independence

9.

Who was asked to be leader of the Continental Army in the American Revolution?

a)

John Adams

b)

George Washington

c)

Thomas Jefferson

d)

Samuel Hood

10.

Why is Saratoga significant to the American Revolution?

a)

It was where the Declaration of Independence was signed

b)

It was where Washington built a professional army to defeat the British

c)

It was the first significant American victory in battle of the war

d)

It was the final battle of the War

11.

What factors led to the American victory in the Revolutionary War?

a)

American guerrilla (hit-and-run) tactics

b)

French support of the American cause

c)

Loss of support for the war among the British public

d)

All of the above

12.

What was the first system of government in the new United States?

a)

Direct Democracy

b)

the Constitution (Representative Democracy)

c)

Monarchy

d)

the Articles of Confederation

13.

Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?

a)

the was not a strong enough central government

b)

the British were threatening war again if the US did not change forms of government

c)

the states were paying too much for the Continental Congress

d)

the Continental Army under the Articles became too oppressive

14.

What do the first three articles of the Constitution establish?

a)

the principle of Federalism

b)

the two houses of Congress

c)

the Three Branches of Government

d)

the powers of the President

15.

What is the system by which state governments and the federal governments share some powers, but split others?

a)

Unitary Government

b)

Separation of Powers

c)

Checks and Balances

d)

Federalism

16.

The fact that Congress can impeach the President is an example of what?

a)

Separation of Powers

b)

Checks and Balances

c)

Federalism

d)

Congressional Overreach

17.

What was the major cause of the War of 1812?

a)

British Impressment of American sailors

b)

British failure to give up Canada

c)

American taxes of British goods

d)

British desire to re-conquer the Colonies

18.

What city was captured and burned by the British in the War of 1812?

a)

New York City

b)

Boston

c)

Philadelphia

d)

Washington DC

19.

What was the system of awarding government jobs to supporters, begun by Andrew Jackson called?

a)

Merits System

b)

Spoils System

c)

Party System

d)

Bureaucratic System

20.

What Andrew Jackson policy led to the deaths of over 5,000 Native Americans on the "Trail of Tears?"

a)

Nullification Crisis

b)

Spoils System

c)

Indian Removal Act

d)

Assimilation Act

21.

What was the philosophy that America was meant to stretch from "Sea to Shining Sea" in the mid-1800s?

a)

Manifest Destiny

b)

Imperialism

c)

Continentalism

d)

Romantic Expansion

22.

What was the decision in the Dred Scott vs. Sandford, and landmark US Supreme Court case?

a)

slaves brought into free states were automatically freed

b)

slaves could not be brought from slave to free states

c)

slavery was condemned by the Supreme Court

d)

slaves were determined to have no rights, and not considered citizens of the US

23.

What were the first shots of the Civil War?

a)

the Northern Invasion of Virginia at Bull Run

b)

the Southern Invasion of Maryland at Antitam

c)

the Northern shelling of New Orleans

d)

the Southern bombing of Fort Sumter at Charleston

24.

What was the major background cause of Southern Secession from the US and the Civil War?

a)

Nullification

b)

State's Rights

c)

Slavery

d)

the election of Abraham Lincoln

25.

What group in Congress sought to punish the South for their actions during the Civil War, and got in legal battles with President Andrew Johnson?

a)

Radical Republicans

b)

Do-nothing Democrats

c)

Carpetbaggers

d)

Reconstruction Republicans