US HISTORY A
Unit 1A Exam Study Guide
This is NOT an assignment you need to turn in. It is being provided to help you study for the Unit 1A exam.
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Where were slaves taken to/from in the “middle passage?”
Which factor directly affected the settlement of New England in the 1600s?
Nathaniel Bacon led a rebellion of what group? Against whom?
Why did Jamestown survive as the 1st permanent colony in North America?
What did the Great Awakening cause some colonists to do?
List the colonies that each of the following founded:
a) Roger Williams/Anne Hutchinson
b) William Penn
c) James Oglethorpe
What was the primary cause of the Salem Witch Trials?
Why did the southern colonies tend to be spread out?
Why did the number of slaves in the colonies increase throughout the 1700s?
Why was the British system of mercantilism not supported by all American colonists?
What was the purpose of the halfway covenant?
How did Britain benefit from its mercantilist relationship with the colonies?
Why was the loss of the MA Charter in 1684 significant to the residents who lived there?
Describe the “triangular trade.”
What did developments such as town meetings in New England and the creation of the Virginia House of
Burgesses represent in the colonial era?
Why did the British establish the Virginia Company?
Where was the Plymouth Colony located?
What religious denominations grew as a result of the “Great Awakening?”
In which of the three colonial regions did good harbors, abundant forests, rocky soil and a short growing season
most influence the resulting economy?
During the colonial period, agriculture played a relatively small role in the New England colonies. In the southern
colonies, large scale commercial agriculture was common. Explain this difference.
How was the colony of New York established?
What was the purpose of the Virginia Company’s headright system?
Why were Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Maryland founded?
What were the Navigation Acts?
Unit 1A Words and Terms
These are some possible Short Answer questions:
26. Describe the settlement of New England, focusing on religious reasons in particular. How did religious tensions
result in the founding of other New England colonies as well as the Salem Witch Trials? How did the Puritans
exercise self-government in the colonies and in what ways did they try to maintain if not increase church
attendance?
27. Explain how the mid-Atlantic colonies developed. In your answer be sure to include the Dutch settlement of New
Amsterdam, how the English took it over, as well as the settlement of Pennsylvania. What made the mid-Atlantic
colonies unique with regard to their characteristics? What other colonies were considered mid-Atlantic?
28. What were the reasons for the English developing the southern colonies? What were some overall characteristics
of these colonies? In your answer, be sure to identify at least three southern colonies. Why did the southern
colonies rely on agriculture more than the colonies in the North?