Name: ______Date: ______Period: ______

8th Grade American History - 1st Semester Exam Study Guide

  1. The winter following John Smith’s departure from Jamestown is called______.
  2. What does the holiday of Thanksgiving commemorate? ______

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  1. Why did the Puritans leave England? ______
  2. Which four states made up the Middle Colonies? ______
  3. Which colony was originally part of Pennsylvania? ______
  4. The western section of Pennsylvania was considered part of ______
  5. Which colony began as a Dutch settlement? ______
  6. Describe the climate of the southern colonies? ______
  7. In the Mayflower Compact, America colonists claimed ______

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  1. The plantation system played an important role in the economy of the ______colonies.
  2. What civic value does this statement suggest: “He who works not, eats not”? ______

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  1. When Columbus reached Cuba, he thought it was ______
  2. How many total expeditions did Columbus lead? ______
  3. Which explorer discovered a strait that bears his name? ______
  4. Who gave Florida its name? ______
  5. What caused the greatest number of Native American fatalities? ______
  6. The first European to see the Pacific Ocean was ______
  7. What are the names of the 3 ships that sailed on Columbus’ first voyage? ______

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  1. Which Spanish explorer found the Mississippi River? ______
  2. Who was the first Spaniard to set foot in what is now the United States? ______
  3. Henry Hudson vanished in 1611 when ______
  4. What was significant about Ferdinand Magellan’s circumnavigation of the world? ______

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  1. What did European nations hope to gain from a Northwest Passage? ______

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  1. What was the primary reason countries focused so greatly on finding a Northwest Passage to Asia? ______
  2. Who originally had the right to vote in English colonies? ______
  3. In colonial families, who usually handled the childcare and domestic duties? ______
  4. In colonial times, how did a young man often learn a trade? ______
  5. 31. Unlike the poor in Europe, lower class colonists could hope to ______

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  1. What was a factor in the growth of southern slavery? ______
  1. What was legal under slave codes? ______

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  1. What was the Great Awakening? ______

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  1. Unlike modern public schools, colonial public schools included instruction in ______
  2. Enslaved people experienced a brutal voyage known as the ______
  3. Which colony had a ban on slavery until the 1750’s? ______
  4. What led to the rise of many new churches in the colonies? ______
  5. Why is habeas corpus an important human right? ______
  6. What is the main reason why colonial authorities wrote slave codes? ______

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  1. Both the Magna Carta and English Bill of Rights gave people accused of a crime ______

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  1. How did the Magna Carta and the English Parliament and the English Bill of Rights Impact colonial government? ______
  2. If the English colonies had not had so many plantations, it is likely that slavery would not have ______
  3. Where did most enslaved immigrants to American come from? ______
  4. The land bridge that once connected Siberia and Alaska is now ______
  5. The three Native American nations that lived in the America’s where who? ______
  6. According to the land bridge theory, people may have crossed into North American because ______
  7. A glacier is ______
  8. Navigation helps sailors to ______
  9. How do we know that Iroquois women had great influence in their society? ______

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  1. Who composed the Declaration of Independence? ______
  2. The Declaration’s “list of grievances” includes ______

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  1. The words “all men are created equal” originally benefited primarily ______

What difficulties did the Continental Army face at Valley Forge? ______

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  1. How long did the American Revolution last? ______
  2. The Declaration of Independence is divided into a preamble and three main sections. The first main section is ______
  3. Which battle in the Middle States was a major turning point in the American Revolution? ______
  4. How did the fighting between France and Great Britain in Europe and the Caribbean help the American cause? ______
  5. What marked the official end of the American Revolution? ______

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  1. What started the French and Indian War? ______

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  1. Why did the Iroquois at Albany refuse to make an alliance against the French because ______

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  1. At the beginning of the French and Indian War ______suffered several defeats.
  2. Why did the colonists resent the Stamp Act? ______

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  1. Who were the Sons (and Daughters) of Liberty? ______
  2. What was the “shot heard ‘round the world”? ______
  3. Why did many enslaved African Americans side with the British? ______
  4. In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act which required colonists to ______

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  1. Which side fired the first shot of the American Revolution? ______
  2. What did John Hancock and George Washington have in common? ______
  3. Which state was the first to include a Bill of Rights in their state constitutions? ______
  4. Who was the first President under the Articles of Confederation? ______
  5. Which rebellion demonstrated the weakness if the federal government under the Articles of Confederation? ______
  6. Where was the nation’s capital originally located? ______
  7. What departments make up the Executive Branch? ______

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  1. Explain the 3 parts to Hamilton’s Financial Plan. ______

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  1. What is the name of the general who helped the Americans at the Battle of Fallen Timbers? ______
  2. What were Washington’s four major accomplishments during his presidency? ______

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  1. What advice did Washington give during his farewell speech? ______

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  1. List the three social classes and their jobs in early colonial society? ______

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  1. What was the Middle Passage and where were Slaves mainly taken to? ______

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