Social Studies: Americans and Their History

Question 1

What is an archeologist?

Answer 1

A scientist who studies the culture of people who lived a long time ago

Question 2

What is an artifact?

Answer 2

An object made by people, such as pottery

Question 3

what is hunter-gatherer?

Answer 3

Someone who hunts wild animals and collects wild plants for food

Question 4

What is agriculture?

Answer 4

The planting and growing of crops for food

Question 5

What is culture?

Answer 5

A way of life for a group of people

Question 6

What is colony?

Answer 6

A settlement ruled by another country

Question 7

What is enslaved?

Answer 7

Forced to work without freedom or pay

Question 8

What is tradition?

Answer 8

A custom or belief which is passed from one generation to the next

Question 9

What is a claim?

Answer 9

The official declaration of owing something, for example a piece of land

Question 10

What is create?

Answer 10

To cause something to happen as a result of action

Question 11

Why do historians and archeologists study artifacts?

Answer 11

Artifacts can tell us a lot about the history of a place and its people

Question 12

Where do the first Americans come from, according to historians and archeologists?

Answer 12

They believe that first Americans came from Asia a long time ago when land connected Asia and the Americas. They may have also come by water. Then they spread across North and South America, to hunt and gather food.

Question 13

What changed the culture hunter-gatherers that moved across the land?

Answer 13

Agriculture changed their habits, because once they learned how to farm, they could stay in one place.

Question 14

True or false: once the indigenous people learned how to farm, they all lived in small villages

Answer 14

False: there were many American Indian cultures - someone lived in small villages to farm, while others followed the animals they hunted from place to place.

Question 15

When did Columbus arrive in the Americas?

Answer 15

October 1492.

Question 16

Why did Columbus call the people he met in North America “Indians”?

Answer 16

Like many European explorers of that era, he was trying to find a direct route from Europe to Asia and had no idea that North America existed. So he thought he landed in the Indian islands and so he called the people he met “Indians”.

Question 17

What European countries made claims on the people and land of North and South America?

Answer 17

Spain, France, Portugal, England and the Netherlands

Question 18

What North America regions did colonists from Spain, England and France initially claim - list them by country

Answer 18

Spain: What is now Florida and the Southwest. Their first colony was called St. Augustine.

England: What is now Virginia and the Atlantic Coast. Their first colonies were called Jamestown and Plymouth.

France: What is now Canada. They called it New France at first.

Question 19

Starting in 1619, another group of people were brought to North America. Who were they, and why were they brought?

Answer 19

European traders brought African slaves against their will to the Americas. Eventually, American farmers depended on slave labor.

Question 20

How many colonies did England have, in North Amercia?

Answer 20

13 colonies along the Atlantic Coast.

Question 21

What is the Columbian Exchange?

Answer 21

Before Columbus, Europe was isolated from the Americas, but soon after, there was trading between the two continents. Europeans brought plants and animals such as cows, horses, chickens, oranges, apples and wheat, in exchange for turkeys, tomatoes, pumpkin, potatoes, corn and gold from the Americas.

Question 22

How did the Columbian Exchange impact culture - how was it helpful, and how was it harmful?

Answer 22

The exchange helped to feed people on both continents. Animals such as horses from Europe helped to improve work and transportation in the Americas.

But European settlers also brought germs such as smallpox that were deadly to the Native Americans because they had no protection from these new types of germs.

This exchange changed the culture in both continents.

Question 23

What important tradition did the English colonists bring with them to their colonies relating to government?

Answer 23

English people had a tradition of being involved in their own government. In their colonies, they also set up governments called House of Burgesses by electing representatives to make laws for their colonies. This started the tradition we have today of self government in America.

Question 24

What is independence?

Answer 24

Freedom from rule by others

Question 25

What is a confederation?

Answer 25

A union of states that agree to cooperate

Question 26

What is a congress?

Answer 26

A group of people responsible for making a country’s laws

Question 27

What is a constitution?

Answer 27

A plan of government

Question 28

What is a delegate?

Answer 28

Someone who represents a group of people

Question 29

What is to ratify?

Answer 29

To approve officially

Question 30

What is amendment (to the constitution)?

Answer 30

A change to the constitution

Question 31

What is a territory?

Answer 31

An area of land which is under the control of another government - in the U.S., a territory does not have the same rights as a state

Question 32

How many American colonies came together to declare independence from England, and how did they do that?

Answer 32

13 colonies came together to sign the Declaration of Independence.

Question 33

What are some actions of the British that made the American colonists angry?

Answer 33

They wanted to tax the colonists under the Stamp Act and the Townsend Act. They also placed restrictions on the ability of the colonies to expand.

Question 34

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

Answer 34

Thomas Jefferson

Question 35

Who led the Continental Army that fought for independence?

Answer 35

George Washington

Question 36

What was an important battle that was won by the Continental Army, that helped them realize that they could beat the British?

Answer 36

It was Battle of Saratoga, in New York.

Question 37

Which were some important groups that joined the fight and helped the colonists win the war against England?

Answer 37

France helped the colonists after the Battle of Saratoga, as well as a large group of Black colonists who joined the Continental Army

Question 38

What was the decisive battle where the Continental Army finally defeated the British?

Answer 38

It was the Battle of Yorktown, in Virginia.

Question 39

What were some of the challenges faced by a newly independent country after they won the war?

Answer 39

It was not easy to build a new nation, because the 13 new states had to start to work together. There were many disagreements about money and land. The states finally came together to write a new plan of government, called the Constitution.

Question 40

What were some of the issues that the delegates argued about, at the Constitutional Convention?

Answer 40

The states debated whether states that had larger populations should have more power in the new government. They also argued about how much power the new U.S. government should have over state governments.

The delegates eventually compromised and balanced the concerns of all the states.

Question 41

Was the Constitution effective when it was signed by all the delegates at the Constitutional Convention?

Answer 41

No, each state also had to ratify the new Constitution. This meant that each state government had to agree to the new Constitution.

Question 42

What are the Bill of Rights?

Answer 42

They are the first ten amendments to the Constitution. They were written to provide more protection to to the rights of the people.

Question 43

What rights does the First Amendment protect?

Answer 43

It protects the freedom of speech, religion and press.

It also protects the right of people to assemble peacefully.

And it guarantees that people can petition the government to make changes.

Question 44

How did the new nation grow beyond the initial 13 states? What was the Louisiana Purchase?

Answer 44

People started moving west, and they wanted to create new states to join the United States. They first formed territories, and eventually became states.

The country also grew when it got new land. For example, the United States government purchased land from France in 1803 that would double its size and eventually became 15 new states. This was the Louisiana Purchase.

Question 45

Why did Thomas Jefferson send an expedition to explore the West?

Answer 45

He believed that it was important to explore and find a new route to reach the Pacific Ocean, and to make contact with Native Americans.

He sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead the expedition of 50 people.

Question 46

Who was Sacajawea?

Answer 46

She was a valuable Native American guide that helped Lewis and Clark.

Question 47

How long was the Lewis and Clark expedition?

Answer 47

They covered 8,000 miles round trip.

Question 48

What were some of the important contributions of Thomas Jefferson to the birth and growth of the United States?

Answer 48

He wrote the Declaration of Independence. He also participated as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.

When he became President, he agreed to the Louisiana Purchase which doubled the size of the country. And he realized the importance of the American West and sent Lewis and Clark on an important exploration that brought back valuable information .