Download US History “Pre

U.S. History
“Pre-Assessment”
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____
1. Most scientists believe that people first came to the Americas from
a. Africa as part of the slave trade.
b. Asia by migrating over a land bridge.
c. Australia by traveling in canoes along coastlines.
d. Europe by sailing ships across the Atlantic Ocean.
____
2. How did the arrival of Europeans affect Native American culture?
a. Native American cultures prospered from more trade.
b. Thousands of Native Americans died from European diseases.
c. European technology helped Native Americans build vast civilizations.
d. Native Americans learned farming from settlers.
____
3. Which country established a number of colonies along the Atlantic coast?
a. Britain
c. the Netherlands
b. France
d. Spain
____
4. The Northwest Ordinance provided for
a. the surveying of western lands.
b. a plan for territorial government.
c. the settlement of lands beyond the Mississippi River.
d. an expansion of slavery beyond the original 13 colonies.
____
5. During the 1760s, American colonists rebelled against the British Parliament for
a. abandoning the colonies.
c. boycotting American goods.
b. raising the colonies’ taxes.
d. going to war against the French.
____
6. During the American Revolution, America received money and troops from what European nation?
a. England
c. Germany (Hessian Troops)
b. France
d. Russia
____
7. The Articles of Confederation
a. reserved most power for the states.
b. provided for a bicameral legislature.
c. granted the federal government the power to levy taxes.
d. gave Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.
____
8. Antifederalists disliked the Constitution because it did not
a. include a bill of rights.
b. provide for any checks and balances.
c. share power among separate branches.
d. adequately restrict representation in Congress.
____
9. Under President Thomas Jefferson, American land expanded west of the Mississippi due to
a. the War of 1812
b. wars with Native Americans
c. the Louisiana Purchase
d. the Lewis and Clark exploration
____ 10. All of the following took place during the War of 1812, EXCEPT
a. the United States was invaded by Great Britain
b. Naval battles on Lake Erie took place
c. British troops burned the Capitol and the White House.
d. Native Americans mounted a rebellion in the Ohio Country
____ 11. Even though Andrew Jackson supported the rights of average Americans, his support did not extend to
a. white men.
c. the Supreme Court.
b. Native Americans.
d. soldiers.
____ 12. Why did many Protestants distrust Roman Catholics in the early 1800s?
a. They thought Catholics were most loyal to the Pope.
b. They thought Catholics were elitist.
c. They were worried that Catholic churches required too much land.
d. They did not like that Catholics said prayers in Latin.
____ 13. During the early 1800’s, most Americans lived
a. in rural areas
c. west of the Mississippi
b. in cities
d. Near railroads
____ 14. In the early 1800s, women had virtually no role in politics because they could not
a. read.
c. vote.
b. write.
d. travel.
____ 15. The movement to end slavery was called
a. Abolition Movement
b. Suffrage Movement
c. Progressive Movement
d. Temperance Movement
____ 16. What was the name given to the journey, hardship, and death of the Cherokee Indians to Indian Territory?
a. The Seneca Falls Convention
c. The Trail of Tears
b. The Battle of the Alamo
d. The Indian Removal Act
____ 17. Temperance workers believed that many of the problems in America came from
a. drinking alcohol.
c. religious fanatics.
b. prisons.
d. corrupt politics.
____ 18. Many Northerners were against abolition because they believed that
a. the North would become too crowded with newly freed slaves.
b. freeing enslaved African Americans would lead to civil war.
c. African Americans were not smart enough to live on their own.
d. freed African Americans would take their jobs.
____ 19. Opportunities for a woman to obtain an education in the early 1800s were
a. abundant.
c. almost nonexistent.
b. available but not advertised.
d. well organized.
____ 20. What effect did the California Gold Rush have on Native Americans?
a. They became wealthy.
b. They owned some land but lost all the gold.
c. They kept the land they had but gained no additional land.
d. They lost their land and were killed.
____ 21. Which of the following was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dred Scott v.
Sanford?
a. the Missouri Compromise
c. the Fugitive Slave Act
b. the Compromise of 1850
d. the Kansas-Nebraska Act
____ 22. Abraham Lincoln won the Republican nomination for President in 1860 because he was viewed as
a. a strong proponent of states’ rights.
b. a radical opponent of slavery.
c. a moderate and skilled politician.
d. a fierce defender of constitutional principles.
____ 23. In his first inaugural address, what did Lincoln promise to do?
a. abolish slavery
c. preserve the Union
b. emancipate southern slaves
d. make war on any state that seceded
____ 24. How did President Lincoln respond to the attack on Fort Sumter?
a. He called for 75,000 volunteers to fight the Confederacy.
b. He denied that an insurrection existed.
c. He attempted to send additional supplies to the fort.
d. He took a conciliatory tone toward the South.
____ 25. Which battle marked the northernmost field of conflict and the last major attempt by the Confederacy to
invade the North?
a. Antietam
c. Gettysburg
b. Bull Run
d. Vicksburg
____ 26. Who became President following Lincoln’s assassination?
a. Andrew Johnson
c. Samuel Tilden
b. Ulysses S. Grant
d. Rutherford B. Hayes
____ 27. During the first years of Reconstruction, African Americans
a. won many political positions in the South.
b. lost their voting rights.
c. ceded political power to white southerners.
d. bought most of the agricultural land in the South.
____ 28. The Civil War began when
a. Lincoln was inaugurated.
b. South Carolina seceded from the Union.
c. southern troops seized federal forts and arsenals.
d. Confederates fired on Union forces at Fort Sumter.
____ 29. What advantage did the North have during the Civil War?
a. Union soldiers used efficient new weapons.
b. Many of the nation’s finest military leaders were from the North.
c. The North had a well-developed railroad network and industrial base.
d. Northern soldiers had to defend only Union territory to win.
____ 30. The federal government helped pay for the war by
a. raising tariffs.
c. discouraging western settlement.
b. removing income taxes.
d. decreasing industrial production.
Extended Response Questions
Use complete sentences to answer the following questions to the best of your knowledge.
31.) Discuss the Declaration of Independence.
32.) Discuss the Constitution of the United States.
33.) Discuss the Bill of Rights.
34.) Discuss the role of Slavery in early U.S. History and its impact on the Civil War.
Pre-Assessment
Answer Key
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
B
B
A
B
B
B
A
A
C
D
B
A
A
C
A
C
A
D
C
D
A
C
C
A
C
A
A
D
C
A