SAT II World History : Discovery and Settlement of the Americas

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : North And South America

Which of these groups were the first to settle the Hudson River Valley?

Possible Answers:

The Portuguese

The Dutch

The English

The French

The Spanish

Correct answer:

The Dutch

Explanation:

The Dutch were the first to found colonies in the Hudson River Valley, the area comprising most of modern-day New York. They founded the colony of New Amsterdam, which would become New York City, in the early seventeenth century. 

Example Question #2 : North And South America

Prior to the arrival of Columbus in the fifteenth century, which of these groups is believed to have arrived in North America? 

Possible Answers:

The Chinese

The Gauls

The Celts

The Vikings

The French

Correct answer:

The Vikings

Explanation:

The Vikings, led by the famous Leif Erikson, are believed to have arrived in what is modern-day Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in the eleventh century, four centuries before the arrival of the Dutch, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Example Question #3 : North And South America

Where were the first European colonies in the New World established? 

Possible Answers:

Florida

Honduras

Brazil

Virginia

Hispaniola

Correct answer:

Hispaniola

Explanation:

The first European colonies in the New World were established in Hispaniola on the initial voyages of Columbus in 1492 and 1493. The island of Hispaniola is now shared by the modern-day countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Example Question #1 : Discovery And Settlement Of The Americas

According to the Monroe Doctrine, the United States 

Possible Answers:

Would aid France in any future conflict with another European power. 

Could establish imperial colonies in the South Pacific. 

Would aid Britain in any future conflict with another European power. 

Had a divine right and mandate to expand across the whole of the North American continent. 

Would intervene if any European power tried to establish new colonies in the American hemisphere. 

Correct answer:

Would intervene if any European power tried to establish new colonies in the American hemisphere. 

Explanation:

The Monroe Doctrine was issued in 1823 following the independence of several South American countries. It stated that if the European powers tried to reestablish colonial control over South or Central America then the United States would intervene. 

Example Question #4 : North And South America

Manifest Destiny states that __________.

Possible Answers:

the United States should police the involvement of European nations in Central and South America

the United States is fated to spread across the whole North American continent

the British will one day return to claim their former American colonies

there is fluidity and mobility in the American social and economic system

the United States should avoid getting involved in European conflicts

Correct answer:

the United States is fated to spread across the whole North American continent

Explanation:

Manifest Destiny is an important and influential mythology of the early American Republic. Proponents of Manifest Destiny argued that the United States was fated to spread and expand across the whole North American conflict. Manifest Destiny was an important driving myth in the massive westward expansion of American settlers in the nineteenth century.

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