North American Colonial and Indigenous History: Key Facts and Events

True or False: Prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the entire native population of North America consisted of isolated bands of hunter-gatherer clans, with a cumulative native population of less than 100,000

False - there were millions of Native inhabitants and complex societies not just HG clans.

True or False: The Spanish were the first Europeans to reach North America

True - The Spanish were the first Europeans to reach mainland N. America (though the Vikings were first, the Spanish was the first to be documented and last in the south.

True or False: The first enduring Spanish settlements were located on Caribbean Islands prior to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire.

True - (like Hispaniola and Cuba)

true or false: Two thousand years ago, some of the largest culture groups in North America were the Puebloan groups, centered in the current-day Greater Southwest (the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico), the Mississippian groups located along the Great River and its tributaries, and the Mesoamerican groups of the areas now known as central Mexico and the Yucatán. Previous developments in agricultural technology enabled the explosive growth of the large early societies, such as that at Tenochtitlán in the Valley of Mexico, Cahokia along the Mississippi River, and in the desert oasis areas of the Greater Southwest.

True - the Puebloan, Mississippian, and Mesoamerican groups were major pre-Colombian cultures in the regions mentioned.

True or false: In order to conquer Mexico in 1519, Hernán Cortés was forced to rely on an overwhelming Spanish invasion force, numbering in the tens of thousands, due to the loyalty of subject peoples to the Aztec Empire.

false - Cortes's army was small, but he succeeded because he allied w/ many native groups hostile to the Aztecs, not because of massive Spanish force.

True or false: though discovered by the Spanish, Florida was first settled by the British.

False - Spanish before the British (St. Augustine, 1565)

True or false: The Spanish were the only Europeans to attempt to settle in Florida.

False - both the Spanish and French (Jean Ribault) attempted to settle in Florida.

True or false: The French, Spanish and British settlers all had strong taboos against "miscegenation", so intermarriage between Europeans and native populations was rare.

False - Spanish and French settlers intermarried more often w/ native populations than the British did. "Miscegenation" was not rare.

True or false: The largest killer within North American populations during the early years of European exploration and settlement, for both Native Americans and European settlers, was a combination of malnutrition and disease.

True - the greatest killers were disease and malnutrition, not warfare.

True or false: The British, French and Dutch all initially disapproved of Spanish methods of colonization and attempted to establish more humane relations with the American Indian populations.

True - Early British, French and Dutch colonizers criticized Spanish brutality and claimed to treat Native ppl more humanly.

true or false: . In British North America, Perpetual (generational/lifetime) negro Slavery was introduced in 1643 and expanded to cover both African slaves and their descendants, based primarily on the status of the mother, by the beginning of the 18th Century.

True - lifetime african slavery in british n. america began legally in virginia by the mid-1600s, tied to maternal status and expanded by the early 18th century.

True or false: While both indentured servitude and slavery continued among colonial white and American Indian populations, by the 1700's African slavery had become the predominant form of forced labor in the central and southern colonies.

true - by the 1700s, african slavery had become the dominant labor system in the south, surpassing indentured servitude and native slavery.

true or false: American Indian/Spanish relations in New Mexico were much better than relations between other European settlers and American Indians during the period 1675-1700.

True - spanish-native relations in new mexivo were generally more cooperative compared to other regions because of trade, intermarriage, and missionary efforts.

true or false: . The term "Middle Passage" referred to the voyage of African slaves during their importation from Africa to the European colonies in the Americas.

true - the middle passage was the brutal voyage that transported enslaved africans across the atlantic to the americas.

true or false: As white/European populations expanded, and land requirements increased, longstanding alliances between whites and American Indians devolved into rivalry and open warfare.

true - as colonists expanded westward, conflicts w/ native americans increase, leading to repeated wars.

true or false: Prior to the 1760's, Transatlantic trade greatly enriched Britain, but it also created high standards of living for many North American colonists.

false - the transatlantic trade made britain wealthy, but most n. american colonists didn't experience high living standards, benefits were uneven and mostly favored britain and coastal elites.

true or false: Though the thirteen continental colonies were not the only British colonies in the Western Hemisphere, they were by far the most important to the Crown.

false - the Caribbean presented more profits to the crown than the 13 colonies.

true or false: virginia was the center of american printing and publishing during the colonial era.

false - the main center of colonial printing and publishing was Philadelphia.

true or false: Following the Treaties of Paris and Hubertusburg in 1763, the British Parliament took a more active and direct role in colonial governance, including the implementation of direct taxes and duties, which was opposed by many North American colonists.

true - after 1763 (treaty of paris and hubertusburg) britain increased control and taxation angering colonists.

true or false: During the first three quarters of the 18th century, political thought in British North America evolved away from the British model due to a multiplicity of factors, to include the "Great Awakening" religious revival, ideals of the Enlightenment, the writings of John Locke, and the greater dispersion of political power due to wider land ownership.

true - in the early to mid-1700s, the colonies developed distict political ideas influenced by John Locke, the enlightenment and the great awakening.

true or false: The coronation of King George III to the British throne and his installation of a "Tory" government over the "Whig" party eventually led to attempts by the Parliament to assert control over Colonial Governance and contributed to a schism between Colonial and Royal authorities as well as popular discontent in the North American colonies.

True - George III's reign and tory leadership led to attempts at tighter imperial control, sparking colonial resistance and political division.

true or false: Despite the pro-Independence propaganda of the era, the British Government never attempted to implement or enforce direct taxation of the North American colonies.

false - the british government did attempt to directly tax the colonies (stamp act, sugar act, and townshend acts) which were major causes of colonial resistance.

true or false: As Commanding General of the Continental Army, George Washington attempted to fight large battles against British forces at the risk of his entire army in order to force a major defeat of British forces in a climatic battle.

false - George Wash. avoided large risky battles. His strat. emphasized preserving his army through retreats and smaller engagements rather than risking total defeat in a climactic battle.

true or false: Upon Ratification of the United States Constitution, a "strict separation" between Church and State was established and the Federal Government and the States were forced to immediately cease support of any form of religious activity.

false - the constitution did not establish immediate or strict separation of church and state; several states maintained established churches or religious tests for years afterward.

true or false: Thomas Jefferson was the author of the "Virginia Plan", which was the blueprint for the United States Constitution.

false - the virginia plan was authored primarily by James Madison, not thomas Jefferson (Jefferson was in France during the Constitutional Convention)

true or false: Alexander Hamilton, as Secretary of the Treasury, advocated successfully for the establishment of the "Bank of the United States" and reduced existing State Revolutionary War debt by nearly 90%.

true - as secretary of treasury, alexander hamilton did successfully push for the creation of the bank of the US and reduced revolutionary war debt significantly.

true or false: John Adams, the second President of the United States, served two full terms (8 Years) as President.

false - john adams served only one-term (1797-1801) as president before being defeated by thomas jefferson.

true or false: After the adoption of the United States Constitution, slaves and free blacks found their status changing due to the emergence of the contradictory impulses of the Enlightenment, local slave uprisings, as well as fears of a general slave revolt in the United States.

true - after the constituion, the social position of enslaved and free blacks became more complicated due to the enlightenment ideals clashing with slavery and fears of uprisings. (ex. gabriel's rebellion)

true or false: According to our text, Thomas Jefferson's victory over the Federalist incumbent John Adams is considered a victory for the concept of more direct/popular control of the government, which was opposed by many Federalists.

true - jefferson's election in 1800 (revolution of 1800) marked a shift toward greater popular control and the peaceful transfer of power from federalists to democratic-republicans.

true or false: The Shawnee leader Tecumseh and his brother, Tenskwatawa the Prophet, were close allies of the American Government and were in the process of creating a trade alliance with the Americans when the War of 1812 erupted.

false - tecumseh and tenskwatawa (the prophet) were enemied of the US and allied w/ the birtish, not americans, during the war of 1812

true or false: Upon their arrival in the United States, German immigrants tended to settle in large cities and arrive singly, either sending money home to families in Germany or paying passage for families later.

false - german immigrants typically settled in rural and farming areas (especially pennyslvannia and the midwest), not large cities.

true or false: According to out text, in New England, the early development of emerging textile industry was reliant on a combination of southern cotton and technology copied from British industry.

true - early new england textile mills (like lowell massachusetts) borrowed heavily from british industrial models and used southern cotton as raw material.

true or false: High School was widely established in the eastern United States in first few decades of the 19th Century as a pathway to either a college or university in the form of the "Latin" high school or a preparation for a more practical education in the form of the "English"-plan high school.

true - by the early 19th century, high schools began appearing in the e. US as college prep.

true or false: Prior to the American Civil War, there was little demand for educated women, so very few schools taught girls at any level, and women generally illiterate.

false - our religion requires women to be literate to be able to read the bible.

true or false: Child labor was strictly regulated in early America and was completely abolished by the late 1840's.

false - child labor was not abolished in the 1840s; it remained widespread throughout the 19th century and was only restricted federally in the 20th century.

Christopher Columbus, an explorer/seafarer employed by the Spanish Monarchy to establish a Western trade route to Asia, made landfall in the vicinity of Hispaniola on _, believing he had reached the East Indies, having underestimated the circumference of Planet Earth by a factor of three. .

a) 17 September 1522

b) an Undetermined date in late 1491

c) 12 October 1492

d) 11 March 1519

c) 12 October 1492

The two most urbanized and cohesive native empires at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Americas were and the _.

a) Caribe and the Calusa

b) The Maya and the Algonquin

c) The Arawaks and the Lenape-Delaware

d) the Inca and Aztec.

d) the inca and aztec

Despite being just 34 years old, Hernán Cortés was entrusted with the subjugation of the Aztec Empire of Mexico due to his previously successful conquest of the island of___ .

a) Puerto Rico

b) Cuba

c) Hispaniola

d) Jamaica

b. cuba

Following the Spanish arrival in the "New World", the leading cause of death among native populations was:

a) Disease

b) Overwork due to the Spanish Colonial encomienda policy

c) Combat Deaths and Warfare Casualties.

d) Massacre, Torture and Execution.

a. disease

One of the primary areas of technological innovation that enabled the Spanish discovery and conquest of the Americas was:

a) Development of the astrolabe, which allowed for precise navigation, and the caravel, a rugged ship with a deep draft capable of making lengthy voyages.

b) The development of artillery and naval cannon.

c) The invention of the movable-type printing press.

d) Euclidean Mathematics

a. development of the astrolabe and the carvel

Ponce de Leon discovered the land he named "La Florida" in the year, .

a) 1522

b) 1513

c) 1607

d) 1598

b. 1513

According to our authors, the "engine for colonization" in Spanish North America was __

a) Missions and Missionaries

b) Military Conquest

c) the thirst for wealth and glory

d) enslavement of native peoples as a labor force

a. missions and missionaries

According to our text, after the Spanish arrival in Florida, Native populations:

a) Were decimated by warfare, disease and enslavement.

b) Increased due to increasing food production and trade opportunities

c) Remained relatively stable at 150,000-300,000.

d) The native population was completely eliminated by disease, warfare and expulsion.

a. were decimated by warfare, disease and enslavement

According to our text, historians estimate that in the British colonies between 1670 and 1715, American Indians were captured and sold into slavery as a result of war and conflict before authorities took steps to discourage the enslavement of American Indians.

a) approximately 200,000

b) over 60,000

c) 175,381

d) between 24,000 and 51,000

d. between 24,000 and 51,000

One major factor attracting immigrants to British North America was.

a) Desire for glory/excitement

b) Implement and enforce British culture on the American Indians as well as other European settlers

c) Religious liberty/toleration

d) Employment in gold and silver mining.

c. religious liberty/toleration

Which of the following countries did NOT attempt to establish a colonial presence in North America?

a) France

b) Prussia/Germany

c) Sweden

d) Holland/The Netherlands

b. prussia/germany

Which British colony in North America banned slavery during the early colonial era?

a) Maryland

b) Pennsylvania

c) Massachusetts Bay

d) All British colonies permitted slavery or indentured servitude in some form during the Colonial era.

d. all british colonies permitted slavery or indentured servitude in some form during the colonial era.

The war involving the British Empire, French Empire, Prussia and western German states and Spain from 1754 to 1763 was known in North America as___.

a) The American Revolution

b) The French and Indian War/ Seven Years War

c) Pontiac's War

d) War of Spanish Succession.

b. the french and indian war / seven years war