Name: __________________________________________________
Period: __________________________
Civics Chapter 4 Study Guide: American Colonies and Their Government
Part I. Matching - Match each term with the best possible philosopher and write the correct letter in the space provided.
_____1. People agreed to be ruled because ruler pledges to protect their rights.
_____2. People have rights to life, liberty and property that government must protect.
_____3. Separate parts of government so no one part can become too powerful.
A. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
_____4. People have the right to speak freely and this right should be defended by all.
B. John Locke
_____5. The legislative power belongs to the people.
C. Thomas Hobbes
_____6. Believed all people were born equal with certain God-given rights.
D. Baron de Montesquieu
_____7. Believed and supported freedom of religion and freedom of trade.
E. Voltaire
_____8. “man is born free, yet everywhere he is found in chains.”
_____9. Believed a strong leader was needed because the people were too selfish to rule.
_____10. Power of the government divided into 3 branches so no one branch would become too strong.
Part II. Multiple Choice - Choose the best possible answer, and write the correct letter in the space provided.
_____11. (DBQ) According to the excerpt from the English Bill of Rights, the term “regal authority” refers to __? __.
a. parliamentary power
c. the wishes or powers of the king
b. the power of commoners or freemen
d. the power of the landholders
____12. (DBQ) According to the excerpt from the English Bill of Rights, who now had authority to make or suspend laws?
a. American colonists
b. English people
c. the King of England
d. Parliament
_____13. (DBQ) The purpose of the document, the Magna Carta is to __? __?
a. abolish the monarch
c. prevent free men from ever being imprisoned
b. list the rights of free men
d. proclaim the power of the English Church
_____14. (DBQ) According to the excerpt from the Magna Carta, which paragraph forbids unlawful imprisonment?
a. 1
b. c30
c. 39
d. 45
_____15. (DBQ) The purpose of the Mayflower Compact was to __? __.
a. create a government for the new colony
c. establish the House of Burgesses in Jamestown
b. establish freedom of religion in the New England colonies
d. promise loyalty to the King of England
_____16. (DBQ) In the excerpt of Common Sense by Thomas Paine, Paine mentions an argument presented by “men of passive tempers.” What
is the best summary of that argument?
a. the colonists should overlook any offenses done to them by Britain and remain friendly towards the British
b. the colonists should stand up and fight because of the offenses done by Britain
c. the colonists should write a letter asking for an apology from Britain
d. the colonists should do nothing at all because the Common Sense pamphlet is not about the colonies nor the British
_____17. The idea of the Enlightenment period shaped the __? __.
a. city-states of Athens
b. Magna Carta
c. Roman Republic
d. Declaration of Independence
_____18. The transfer of power within the British monarch from King James II to William and Mary became known as the __? __.
a. English Bill of Rights
b. Enlightenment
c. Glorious Revolution
d. Great Awakening
_____19. The Enlightenment philosopher John Locke believed that government should __? __.
a. become a republic
b. serve the people
c. cease to exist
d. strengthen the monarchy
_____20. Thomas Jefferson’s reference to the natural rights of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” in the Declaration of Independence was
clearly inspired by the ideas of
a. John Locke
b. Julius Caesar
c. the Puritans
d. the Roman Senate
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Part III. Fill in the blank - Write the most appropriate word(s) to complete the statement. Spelling counts.
Mayflower Compact
Magna Carta
John Locke
Baron de Montesquieu
English Bill of Rights
Founding Fathers
Common Sense
Declaration of Independence
New England
Middle
Southern
_________________________21. What was the period of time in Europe, following the Renaissance, during which there was an explosion in
scientific knowledge and political thinking?
_________________________22. What is the term for the leaders of the American Revolution who wrote the Declaration of Independence and U.S.
Constitution?
_________________________23. Which political philosopher inspired the reference in the Declaration of Independence to “Life, Liberty and the
Pursuit of Happiness?”
_________________________24. Who was the philosopher who felt that government powers should be separated (into branches) to prevent any
part from becoming too powerful?
__________________________25. What was a pamphlet, written by Thomas Paine that encouraged colonists to rebel against England?
__________________________26. What was written as a final response to British Acts (Coercive Acts, Tea Act, etc.) and fighting at Lexington and
Concord? It referenced “the Laws of Nature” and “unalienable rights?”
__________________________27. What English document established the principle and precedent of limited government in English law?
__________________________28. What established the right to a fair trial and required Parliamentary approval of taxes, moving England toward a
Constitutional Monarchy.
__________________________29. What was the government established by the Pilgrims in which they agreed to a direct democracy?
__________________________30. The ___________ (Colonies) had a warm climate and specialized in the large scale production and trade of
agricultural products.
__________________________31. The ___________(Colonies) had climate and soils that made the production of cash crops possible, and the
availability of natural resources resulted in mining, ironworks, and
__________________________32. The ____________Colonies) had a cold climate and rocky soils, making large scale farming difficult. They
specialized in logging, ship building, fishing, and fur trading.
Part IV. (DBQ) Extended Response
Region
Economic Activity
New England (North)
Middle
South
33. Comparing and Contrasting Compare and contrast the ways in which settlers adapted to life in the (1)New England, (2)Middle, and (3)
Southern Colonies. Use evidence about the geography and the economic activities of each region to support your answer. Remember do not start your
sentences with he, she, it or because and use specific details not general ones.
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Excerpt for questions 11 & 12
The English Bill of Rights, 1689
…And thereupon the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons, pursuant to their respective
letters and elections, being now assembled in a full and free representative of this nation, taking into their
most serious consideration the best means for attaining the ends aforesaid, do in the first place (as their
ancestors in like case have usually done) for the vindicating and asserting their ancient rights and liberties
declare
That the pretended power of suspending the laws or the execution of laws by regal authority without
consent of Parliament is illegal…
--The English Bill of Rights. 1689
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/england.asp
Excerpt for question 15
Agreement between the Settlers at New Plymouth: Mayflower Compact1620
IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord
King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken
for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the
first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one
another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and
Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws,
Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the
general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience. IN WITNESS whereof we have
hereunto subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of
England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini; 1620. ..
--Mayflower Compact
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/mayflower.asp
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Excerpt for questions 13 & 14
Excerpt from the Magna Carta, 1215
1.
In the first place we have granted to God, and by this our present charter confirmed for us and our heirs forever that
the English Church shall be free, and shall have her rights entire, and her liberties inviolate; and we will that it be thus
observed; which is apparent from this that the freedom of elections, which is reckoned most important and very
essential to the English Church, we, of our pure and unconstrained will, did grant, and did by our charter confirm and
did obtain the ratification of the same from our lord, Pope Innocent III, before the quarrel arose between us and our
barons: and this we will observe, and our will is that it be observed in good faith by our heirs forever. We have also
granted to all freemen of our kingdom, for us and our heirs forever, all the underwritten liberties, to be had and held by
them and their heirs, of us and our heirs forever.
30. No sheriff or bailiff of ours, or other person, shall take the horses or carts of any freeman for transport duty, against
the will of the said freeman.
39. No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned … or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor send
upon him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.
40. To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice.
45. We will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or bailiffs only such as know the law of the realm and mean to
observe it well.
63. Wherefore we will and firmly order that the English Church be free, and that the men in our kingdom have and hold all
the aforesaid liberties, rights, and concessions, well and peaceably, freely and quietly, fully and wholly, for
themselves and their heirs, of us and our heirs, in all respects and in all places forever, as is aforesaid. An oath,
moreover, has been taken, as well on our part as on the part of the barons, that all these conditions aforesaid shall be
kept in good faith and without evil intent. Given under our hand - the above named and many others being witnesses
- in the meadow which is called Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines, on the fifteenth day of June, in the
seventeenth year of our reign.
--Excerpt from the Magna Carta, 1215
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/medieval/magframe.asp
Excerpt for question 16
--Common Sense by Thomas Payne 1776
Men of passive tempers look somewhat lightly over the offenses of Britain, and still hoping for the best, are apt to call out,
“COME, COME, WE SHALL BE FRIENDS AGAIN, FOR ALL THIS.” But examine the passions and feelings of mankind,
Bring the doctrine of reconciliation to the touchstone of nature, and then tell me, whether you can hereafter love, honor,
and faithfully serve the power that hath carried fire and sword into your land?
--Common Sense by Thomas Payne 1776
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