Early American Settlements

Following Columbus, the Spanish sent fleets of ships across oceans to discover and conquer new lands. The Spanish dominated naval exploration from 1492 to 1600, a period known as the Age of Exploration.

It wasn't until the 1600s that white settlers attempted to actually live in North America. The 1st settlements ended badly. But after the success of the settlements in Jamestown and Plymouth, more Europeans came to North America.

The Natives didn't always welcome the newcomers. Both sides participated in bloody raids, hurting the relationship between Native Americans and Europeans.

Based on the passage, what is true about the 1st European settlements in America?

• The 1st settlements made a lot of money for Europe.

• The 1st settlers did not interact with Native Americans.

• European established their 1st settlements in 1492.

• The first European settlements were unsuccessful.

English settlers established Jamestown in 1607. It was the 1st successful colony in North America. John Smith was not the leader of the colony at this time but took a prominent role later on.

There were no women at Jamestown. The men who settled there built a large fort and met with the local Native Americans. But they made some crucial mistakes. The site they had chosen was in fact a malarial swamp, and a lot of them got sick and died. They had arrived in May, too late to plant crops, and when the first winter came, many settlers starved, froze and died of sickness. Some men deserted to join the local Native Americans, who were much more capable of dealing with the cold winter.

According to the passage, which of the following was a mistake early Jamestown settlers made?

• The settlers distrusted the local Native Americans.

• The settlers did not bring enough blankets to help survive the winter.

• The settlers arrived too late in the year to plant crops.

• The settlers couldn't agree on who would lead them.

In 1609, two years after Jamestown was established, reinforcements arrived, but more than 60% of the original settlers had died. It was around this time that John Smith declared himself the leader, essentially becoming a military dictator. Smith had a hard-line motto: If you don't work, you don't eat. He also organized work gangs and taught the men foraging techniques that he had probably learned from the Native Americans.

Based on the passage, John Smith would agree with which of the following statements?

• People should work for their food.

• People should avoid foraging for food because it is unsafe.

• People should elect their leaders with a democratic vote.

• People do not need to be led.

Tobacco was America's first cash crop. In 1612, Jamestown settler John Rolfe mixed some mild Jamaican tobacco with a local Virginian strain and began cultivating it. It grew amazingly well.

Tobacco didn't exist in Europe before the Spanish brought it back from the New World. Once it arrived, it became an immediate hit. Tobacco exports to Europe increased by a factor of twenty from 1616 to 1619 and soon supported the entire colony.

Tobacco was proof that the colonies were financially viable.

Which sentence best expresses the central idea of this passage?

• Tobacco exports increased by a factor of twenty in 3 years.

• Before the 1600s, the majority of Europeans did not have access to tobacco.

• John Rolfe experimented with mixing different tobacco plants.

• Tobacco was a very valuable crop, and its sale made the colonies profitable.

Pocahontas was the daughter of the local chief, Powhatan. According to John Smith, Pocahontas saved his life when Powhatan was going to have his head smashed in, but many historians now believe that Smith was actually undergoing a harmless initiation ceremony.

Disney would have you believe that Pocahontas and John Smith had a love affair in the New World, but there is little factual information to prove this. In any event, John Smith was twenty-seven old. Pocahontas was eleven.

The colonists eventually kidnapped Pocahontas, and John Rolfe married her (supposedly in an effort to improve relations with Powhatan). Pocahontas converted to Christianity and traveled to England with Rolfe and their son. The British royal court greeted Pocahontas with fanfare. Then she died of illness, probably smallpox.

What is the purpose of the second paragraph in their passage?

• to describe the plot of the Disney movie Pocahontas

• to describe two characters from the Disney movie Pocahontas

• to make the claim that John Smith and Pocahontas likely did not fall in love

• to provide details about the love affair between John Smith and Pocahontas

In 1619, the colonists in Jamestown set up the House of Burgesses, the first representational government of the colonies. Its power was modest at first: the Virginia Company, which had paid for the voyage, could overrule its decisions. But the House of Burgesses eventually became an influential political body.

During this time, on another continent, European and African traders were stealing Africans from their land and shipping them to America as slaves. This means that settlers were setting up a version of representational government for white men while the first African slaves were arriving in the colonies.

According to this passage, which of the following is true about the House of Burgess?

• It was the 1st representational government in the American colonies.

• It was not very powerful at first.

• It was established while slavery arrived in the colonies.

• All of the above.

In 1620, 102 colonists, male and female, sailed across the Atlantic on a ship called the Mayflower. They reached Plymouth in modern-day Massachusetts. Most of the settlers were Separatists. They wanted to separate from the Church of England. They were fleeing England to escape religious persecution. This group is now known as the Pilgrims.

When the Pilgrims landed, they drafted the Mayflower Compact, a document that established Plymouth Plantation as a "civil body politic," under the sovereignty of King James I of England. Every man was required to sign it. More powerful in many ways than the House of Burgesses, the Mayflower Compact set up what some consider America's 1st self-government, except from the self-governing Native Americans.

According to the passage, the Mayflower Compact was -

• not as powerful as the House of Burgess.

• signed by all the Pilgrims, both men and women.

• one of America's first forms of self-government.

• none of the above.

The Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth in December. Within months, half of the Pilgrims died in the harsh New England winter. Local Native Americans, especially one named Squanto, helped the settlers, as others had in Jamestown. Squanto apparently spoke English even before the Pilgrims arrived. Historians are unsure how he managed this feat. Squanto and the Wampanoag taught the Pilgrims how to till the land, plant corn and navigate the landscape. These tasks were instrumental to the survival of those first New England colonists.

Which detail from the passage best describes way the local Native Americans helped the Pilgrims?

• "Within months, half of the Pilgrims died in the harsh New England winter."

• "Historians are unsure how he managed this feat."

• "...the Wampanoag taught the Pilgrims how to till the land, plant corn and navigate the landscape."

• "Local Native Americans, especially one named Squanto, helped the settlers, as other had in Jamestown."

When the Pilgrims achieved their first successful harvest, they decided to celebrate. For the settlers, a good harvest was literally the difference between life and death. The Pilgrims invited some of the Wampanoag to thank them for their help and friendship. For three days, the group feasted on turkey, venison, corn and squash and took long naps. This was first Thanksgiving. It was also around this time that Squanto died of smallpox or one of the other diseases that would ravage the Native American population in America.

Which detail from the passage best explains why the Pilgrims decided to celebrate their first successful harvest?

• "This was the first Thanksgiving."

• "It was also around this time that Squanto died of smallpox..."

• "...a good harvest was literally the difference between life and death."

• "The Pilgrims invited some of the Wampanoag..."

Religious and political oppression grew worse in England during the first half of the 17th century. A growing number of British citizens, facing religious persecution at home, decided to attempt the dangerous journey to America. In 1628, a group of Puritans struck a deal with the government, which allowed them to set up a self-governing colony north of Plymouth. These extremely religious Puritans differed from Pilgrim Separatists. The Puritans didn't want to break from the Church of England; they just wanted to "purify" it. Roughly 1,000 Puritans made the trip to Massachusetts in 1630, establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Which of the following statements best expresses the central idea of the passage?

• Because of religious persecution, about 1,000 Puritans left Britain to establish a colony in 1630

• The 1,000 Puritans who established that Massachusetts Bay Colony did not wish to separate from the Church of England.

• From 1600-1650, religious persecution increased in England.

• The Puritans struck a deal with the English government in 1600s.