The United States of America

Question 1

What is the name Americans use for the men who were the architects of the new American country?

Answer 1

The Founding Fathers.

Question 2

What was the name of the war Americans fought for their independence from Britain?

Answer 2

Revolutionary War or War of Independence.

Question 3

What is the main difference between a melting pot society and a salad bowl society?

Answer 3

The melting pot theory is more of a metaphor for a society that blends several cultures to create a new hybrid culture and the salad bowl society is a society which consists of several different and individual cultures mixed together.

Question 4

What does the American motto “E Pluribus Unum” mean in English?

Answer 4

Out of Many, One.

Question 5

When did the British bring the first African slaves to the United States? What colony were they brought to?

Answer 5

The first African slaves were brought to Jamestown in 1616.

Question 6

What is the link that the White House has with slavery?

Answer 6

The White House was built in 1792 primarily by African Americans, both slave and free.

Question 7

What are the three largest ethnic groups in the United States (from largest to smallest)?

Answer 7

White Americans, Hispanic American, African American.

Question 8

What about drug use in America allows us to see the inequality between African Americans and White Americans?

Answer 8

An equal number of African Americans and White Americans admit to using drugs, yet African Americans are six times more likely to go to jail for using the same drugs.

Question 9

Look up Jim Crow South. Write a definition of it in less than 20 words.

Answer 9

Racist laws enforced to keep power and money away from African Americans and to separate them from White Americans.

Question 10

What four types of Africam American music have been influential in Western culture in the past century?

Answer 10

Jazz, blues, rap, and R&B.

Question 11

Who was the leader of the Civil Rights Moovement?

Answer 11

Martin Luther King Jr.

Question 12

What is the Congressional Black Caucus?

Answer 12

Short answer: the CBC is not a political party, but rather a group of black members of congress that promote similar ideas.

Passage from the textbook:

“In the American Congress, a group of black politicians called the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) represents the African American members of Congress. In the 115th Congress (2017-2019), it consisted of 49 members which represent 78 million Americans. The CBC is not a political party, but rather a group of members that promote similar ideas. Most members are part of the Democratic Party.”

Question 13

Who was the first European to set foot in the Americas?

Answer 13

Leif Erikson

Question 14

Where was Christopher Columbus born, and for which country did he sail to the New World?

Answer 14

Genua, Italy and Spain

Question 15

Who are the Americas named after and what was his job?

Answer 15

Amerigo Vespucci the cartographer

Question 16

Why is Columbus Day so controversial in the United States today?

Answer 16

Columbus Day is controversial because many now know that Columbus brutalized the Arawak Indians and is essentially guilty of genocide. At the same time, Italian Americans use the holiday as a way to celebrate Italian American heritage.

Question 17

What is an immigration wave?

Answer 17

Various waves of people that came to the United States at the same time.

Question 18

The first groups of immigrants to the United States (original 13 colonies) came from what European countries?

Answer 18

United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland.

Question 19

What does the term WASP mean?

Answer 19

White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.

Question 20

Which three religious groups that came to the British Colonies for religious freedom?

Answer 20

Pilgrims, Puritans, and Catholics.

Question 21

The first wave of immigrants consisted of people from which countries?

Answer 21

Germany and Ireland.

Question 22

What is the single largest ethnic (not racial) group in the United States today?

Answer 22

German Americans.

Question 23

Which party was created as a reaction to Catholic immigration?

Answer 23

Native American Party.

Question 24

The Know Nothing Movement was used to get which two groups of people out of power?

Answer 24

German and Irish Catholics.

Question 25

The US has a history of anti-immigration laws. Name two mentioned in the text and describe what they limited.

Answer 25

Chinese Exclusion Act – limited first Chinese and then all Asian immigration.

Immigration Act of 1917 – limited the amount of people entering the US based upon the amount of people from that country in the USA in 1817.

Question 26

How does US citizenship law differ from Dutch citizenship laws (see jus soli versus jus sangri)?

Answer 26

In the USA citizenship is granted on where you are born (in the USA). In the Netherlands citizenship is granted based upon your parents’ citizenship.

Question 27

Which party do people in Blue States generally vote for?

Answer 27

Democratic Party.

Question 28

Which party do people in Red States generally vote for?

Answer 28

Republican Party.

Question 29

Where do people who vote for the Republican and Democratic Party respectfully live?

Answer 29

Rural areas and cities/suburban areas.

Question 30

Which two policies does the Tea Party advocate for?

Answer 30

Lower taxes and less immigration.

Question 31

What was the Birther Movement and who was their famous supporter?

Answer 31

Birthers believed that Obama was not American but rather Kenyan. Donald Trump was their famous supporter.

Question 32

Where is the Rust Belt?

Answer 32

The Rust Belt is an area in the US where there used to be a lot of manufacturing jobs, but now there is major population decline. Typically it is in the Midwest region.

Question 33

Describe what the popular vote is? How does it differ from the Electoral College?

Answer 33

The popular vote is the total vote of all Americans. The Electoral College is the system used in the US to elect the president. Each state gets a vote for the number of senators and representatives they have in Congress.

Question 34

What chants or slogans were commonplace at Trump’s rallies?

Answer 34

Build the wall and Lock her up

Question 35

What is the newscaster on cable news often called?

Answer 35

A pundit.

Question 36

Why was 2018 called the year of the woman?

Answer 36

Because many new women were elected to the US congress. 117 in total were elected, including the first Muslim and Native American women.