SAT II US History : Facts and Details in U.S. Economic History from Pre-Columbian to 1789

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II US History

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From Pre Columbian To 1789

1.       What was the reasoning behind Parliament’s imposition of the Stamp Act in 1765?

Possible Answers:

Defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing he British colonies and plantations in America

To enforce regulations on trade between the colonies and British and non-British merchants

The French and Indian war left Britain in great debt and revenue was needed

To defray costs from importing goods from the Americas

To pay for British militia to patrol smuggling on the part of colonial merchants

Correct answer:

Defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing he British colonies and plantations in America

Explanation:

The stamp act was imposed in order for the British to defray cost of defending, protecting, and securing the colonies as stated in the first paragraph of the stamp act.

Example Question #2 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From Pre Columbian To 1789

The Economienda System, established by the Spanish in their early colonies, prescribed that?

Possible Answers:
Those Native Americans who resisted Spanish imposition were to be dispatched with legalized ruthlessness
Slaves were to be brought over from Africa to work the plantations of the Caribbean and the Southern parts of what is now the United States
Native people were to be utilized in forced slave labor to assist the development of Spanish infrastructure
Spanish Missionaries would be given the freedom to preach and travel where they pleased in the New World to spread Christianity to an “uncivilized people”
Every Spanish colonist was made economically and politically subject to the Spanish Crown
Correct answer: Native people were to be utilized in forced slave labor to assist the development of Spanish infrastructure
Explanation:

The Economienda System dictated that Native Americans were lesser peoples, afforded the same status as other inferior races, and were free to be used as slaves to further the goals of Spanish Empire. The repeal of the system, at this insistence of several Spanish missionaries, helped lead to the massive influx of slaves from Africa to replace the work that had previously been done by Native Americans. One missionary would famously state that his work to free the Native Americans was the biggest mistake he ever made, as their population was ultimately ravaged by Smallpox anyway and the repeal of the Economienda System led directly to the massive use of African slaves in the New World

Example Question #1 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From Pre Columbian To 1789

Which company provided financial backing for both the Jamestown and Plymouth colonies?

Possible Answers:

British East India Company

London Company

Atlantic Company

South Sea Company

The Company of the Americas

Correct answer:

London Company

Explanation:

The London Company, often called the Virginia Company of London, was established by King James I in 1606 with the expressed purpose of establishing colonies in North America. The London Company provided financial backing for the Jamestown and Plymouth experiments that later led to the creation of Massachusetts and Virginia. 

Example Question #1 : U.S. Economic History From Pre Columbian History To 1789

How did the headright system encourage settlement in the colonies?

Possible Answers:

It established a financial reward if a colonist could prove he had killed a Native American.

It awarded one hundred and sixty acres of land to whoever agreed to live work there for at least five years.

It provided military protection to colonists on the frontier.

It provided financial assistance to settlers who arrived with an established skill set.

It rewarded colonists with a section of land, the size of which was based on how many individuals the arriving colonists brought with them.

Correct answer:

It rewarded colonists with a section of land, the size of which was based on how many individuals the arriving colonists brought with them.

Explanation:

The headright system was a system of land grants that were used to expand the population of the original thirteen colonies. It functioned differently in different areas of colonial America, but the principle was essentially the same throughout: an established settlement, like Jamestown or Plymouth, would award newly arriving settlers with a fifty acre tract of land to encourage settlement. Further, to encourage families and wealthy land owners to settle in the colonies, an individual would be awarded an additional fifty acres for each individual he brought along with him. 

Example Question #3 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From Pre Columbian To 1789

______________ was the first European to come upon the Mississippi River in 1542.

Possible Answers:

Juan Ponce de León

Hernán Cortés

Christopher Columbus

Hernando de Soto

Vasco Núñez de Balboa

Correct answer:

Hernando de Soto

Explanation:

Hernando de Soto from Spain was the first European to explore the Mississippi River in 1542.

Example Question #1 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From Pre Columbian To 1789

Of these colonies, which was the first to use African slaves?

Possible Answers:

Virginia

Georgia

South Carolina

North Carolina

Maryland

Correct answer:

Virginia

Explanation:

The first African slaves in any of the English colonies were brought to Virginia in 1619. They were brought to help with the thriving tobacco cultivation in the colony, and soon became a crucial part of the growing plantation economy. Their arrival in 1619 predates even the existence of the other colonies listed in this question.

Example Question #2 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From Pre Columbian To 1789

Who was was the first person to introduce a successful strain of tobacco to Virginia colony that became a profitable cash crop?

Possible Answers:

John Smith

Eli Whitney

Miles Standish

Thomas Jefferson

John Rolfe

Correct answer:

John Rolfe

Explanation:

John Rolfe was the first to cultivate a strain of tobacco in Virginia that became a profitable cash crop, allowing the colony to thrive. John Smith played an important early role in the settlement of Virginia, but returned to England before a profitable strain of tobacco was introduced. Miles Standish was an important leader in Plymouth colony, not Virginia. Thomas Jefferson and Eli Whitney were important late 18th and early 19th century figures, long after the early development of Virginia.

Example Question #3 : Facts And Details In U.S. Economic History From Pre Columbian To 1789

__________ was the day when the stock market took its final plunge, leading to the collapse of the financial system.

Possible Answers:

"A date which will live in infamy"

"Black Friday"

"Black Tuesday"

"Black Thursday"

Correct answer:

"Black Tuesday"

Explanation:

Black Tuesday is when the stock market took its final plunge, a precipitating event of the Great Depression. Although there are entire courses on the Great Depression, and stock trading is likely far beyond the scope of your course, a brief overview is helpful. Essentially, many investors and traders were trading stocks “on margin”—that is (basically) using borrowed money to invest. Think of it like this: you borrow $100 dollars in order to invest it. If you get a 10% rate of return, and you lose nothing, you can repay the $100 and you’ve made $10. Think of the flipside, however: what if you borrow $100, invest it poorly, and then lose it all. Now you owe someone $100; it’s almost like borrowing money to gamble (although that would be considerably more risky). When the stock market crashed, the end result was multiplied tenfold by the fact that many people were trading on margin (thus they lost everything, and then were in debt for more money than they could possibly ever repay).

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