Study Guide – Midterm Exam – History 101

About the Exam

The midterm exam is comprised of two parts: a proctored multiple-choice exam drawn from all of the
semester’s entry and exit tickets (70 questions). This exam will take place in our classroom on Oct. 17.
Part II will be a short essay (maximum of 500 words) in which you will use primary source evidence to
support a historical claim. Part II will become available Wednesday morning and will be due at 11:59pm
Wednesday evening.

Here are the questions we will answer for Part I:

 What are the five basic elements of historical thinking?

 Approximately what percentage of American history has occurred since 1492?
 The society that represents the peak of the mound building culture in North America is known
as what?
 Archeological discoveries in Mound 72 of Cahokia suggest what?
 How did George McJunkin’s discovery in New Mexico in 1908 change understanding of
American history?
 What do the Cactus Hill discoveries tell us about the history of Native Americans in the United
States?
 Although we don't know for certain, the location of the largest woodhenge at Cahokia suggests
at least one of its functions was what?
 In the Mississippi Valley, where Soto found _______ substantial Native American towns in the
1540s, the French in 1670 found ____________
 When Columbus first encountered the Tainos, how did he react?
 In the early 1500s what percentage of Europe's population consisted of peasants?
 What were some of the problems in English society in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries?
 What helped fuel the "maritime revolution" of the fifteenth century?
 Which of the following nations led the way in exploration in the fifteenth century?
 In fifteenth century Africa, slaves were what?
 What was the primary object of Spanish explorers in the New World?
 What are examples of Europe’s secular business innovations in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries?
 What Italian city-state was most critical in the exploration of the Atlantic (including being
Columbus's birthplace)?
 What empire expanded into Eastern Europe and cut off European overland trade routes to Asia
in the 1400s?
 What happened to grain prices and real wages in Europe between 1400-1700?
 Which of the following statements does not correctly portray an aspect of the "Columbian
exchange"?
 Where was the first permanent European (not English) settlement on future United States soil?
 Where was the first permanent ENGLISH settlement in the New World?
 Who was Mansa Musa?
 Orlando Patterson’s definition of slavery has withstood scrutiny for over 20 years. He asserted
that slavery is
 What agricultural product was predominant in the first century of the Atlantic Plantation
Complex?
 The Atlantic Plantation Complex originated where?
 According to a survey taken by a Sierra Leone missionary, how were most African slaves
obtained?
 Approximately what percentage of enslaved Africans ended up in what is now the United
States?
 Based on Dutch records, about how often did slave ships experience revolts from the African
passengers?
 What were the two methods European slave merchants used to procure slaves?
 According to Dutch records, approximately what percentage of African captives died on the
journey across the Atlantic?
 What were the products used by European slave merchants to purchase African slaves on the
African coast?
 According to Venture Smith, why was he given the name "Venture"?
 Why was John Rolfe important to the eventual success of the Jamestown settlement?
 Why did Puritans decide they needed to leave Great Britain?
 Why was the Act for Religious Toleration of 1649 significant?
 How did Bacon's Rebellion transform labor systems in Virginia?
 Which colony was intended as a haven for Catholics in the seventeenth century?
 By 1700, four distinct regions had emerged in the English Colonies. What were those four
regions?
 According to the profile of Anthony Johnson (PDF file in the modules), Johnson arrived in
Virginia in 1621 from Africa (probably the Angola region). What happened to him in 1635?
 What happened as a result of the Stono Rebellion?
 What was mercantilism?
 Which of the following was not a reason why few colonial Americans objected to the British
navigation system after 1700?
 What name have historians given to the outpouring of European Protestant revivalism of the
late 1730s and early 1740s?
 What British preacher came to the colonies in 1739 and made crowds as large as 20,000 "weep
at his eloquence"?
 (To answer this question, see the brief overview of the Salem Witch Trials in the modules)
Between February of 1692 and April of 1693, approximately how many residents of the Salem
region were accused of witchcraft?
 (To answer this question, see the brief overview of the Salem Witch Trials in this module) During
the Salem witchcraft hysteria, how many people were executed by hanging or torture?
 (To answer this question, see the brief overview of the Salem Witch Trials in this module)
  In what colony did the Salem witchcraft hysteria occur?
 True or false: During the Salem trials, more people were accused and executed than in all the
previous witchcraft trials in New England
 Which of the following was not a result of the Seven Years' War?
 Which statement is true concerning British tax rates during the 1760s?
 How did a writ of assistance work?
 What was the principle of virtual representation?
 How were women important to colonial resistance?
 Which of the following was the attorney who defended the British soldiers accused of firing on
the civilians in the Boston Massacre?
 What did Virginia governor Lord Dunmore promise slaves in 1775?
 Why is Samuel Adams significant to the development of revolutionary thought in America?
 What was the colonial resistance leaders' first attempt at maintaining close and continuing
cooperation in defense of colonists' rights over a wide area?
 What was the British purpose behind the Proclamation of 1763?
 How did colonists in the West react to the Proclamation Act of 1763?
 Which one of the following is NOT accurate regarding Native Americans (Indians) and slavery?
 Which one of the following is NOT true regarding indentured servants in North America?
 What do Anthony Johnson’s experiences demonstrate?
 What does this chart tell us about the transition from indentured servitude to racial slavery?
servant slave maintenance.jpg
 According to this chart, indentured servants comprised __________ percent of the white labor
force in 1640 and ____________ percent by 1700. Servitude numbers.jpg
 Life expectancy in colonial New England was ______________ compared to Britain at the same
time
 How did Americans oppose the Stamp Act?
 How did the British government react to the colonial opposition to the Stamp Act?
 What was the purpose of the 1764 Sugar Act?
 What did the 1773 the Tea Act do?
 What did the Townshend Duties (also known as Townshend Acts) do?
 Which of the following is not one of the results of the Intolerable (a.k.a. Coercive) Acts?
 Which of the following was not one of the goals of the Olive Branch Petition?
 Where did British and colonial forces first fight in April 1775?
 What made Thomas Paine's publication of Common Sense so significant?
 What European nation secretly funded American rebels from the beginning and supplied trained
troops that were crucial to eventual victory?

Questions to consider for Part II – use primary source evidence to support an answer to the following:

1. How do we know that race-based slavery evolved gradually in the Chesapeake between 1619
and 1705?
2. What was the most important cause of the Salem witch hysteria? Socioeconomic tensions or an
outbreak of a viral disease?