Oral Exams- History

Unit 1

1. What was Jamestown? What did John Smith require of the people to live in
Jamestown? Why were they both important?
Jamestown was the first place settlement by English people in North
America. The only thing that John Smith require from the people who lived
in Jamestown was working in order to eat. He was important because he
was one of the greatest explorers of the New World and he is responsible
for the settlement and survival of Jamestown.
2. What was the Great Awaking? Why was this important to the colonists?
The Great Awaking was a religious movement that happened during the
1730s and 1740s. This movement was important to the colonists because it
changed the “religious climate” and create a division of people who
supported the idea and who did not.
3. Who was John Locke? Why was he important to American History?
John Locke was an English political theorist. he was known as “The Father of
The Liberalism” and he supported freedom and religious tolerance.
4. Why did slavery replace indentured servitude?
Slavery replace indentured servitude because it would bought more profits
for the colonies. However, another reason for that change was because the
Native Americans (who served the colonies) died from diseases.
5. Describe the differences between the New England Colonies, Middle
Colonies, and Southern Colonies.
The Middle colonies had rich farmland and a moderate climate. The
Southern colonies had a fertile ground and a climate prone to agriculture.
Both colonies depended on slavery to have profits. The New England
colonies were cold and the ground was not prone to agriculture, they
focused on fishing and shipbuilding.
6. When was the French-Indian War? How did it affect Britain and the
colonies?
The French-Indian War happened from 1754 to 1763. This war changed the
relationship between Britain and the North American colonies. The relation
became strained because Britain imposed unfair taxes. From that moment
the colonists developed a resentment toward Britain.
 Unit 2

1. As a result of the French and Indian War, the British increased taxes on the
Colonists. What were some of these taxes?
The taxes were: Sugar Act (raised taxes on foreign refined sugar that the
colonists import from other countries), the Quartering Act (prevented ships
to dock on Colonial ground), the Stamp Act (added a stamp tax on
newspapers, legal and official documents, etc), the Townshend Act
(preventing Americans to make commercial trades with other countries
that were not British), and the Intolerable Acts (closing the Boston’s Port,
suspension of Massasshustes’ meetings, suspension of public
manifestation against the Britain Government, and so on).
2. What were the advantages of each side in the American Revolution?
Colonists: They knew their ground, had better riffles, France and other
countries supported them and they had experience because of the French
and Indian War.
British: soldiers were organized, Slaves helped them, and had money
3. What document stabilized the first US Government? What was wrong with
the document?
The Articles of Confederation stabilized the first US Government. This
document created a weak central government. (had no power to make
commercial trades, Congress had no power to have an army and impose
taxes).
4. What were the advantages of the Constitution?
The Constitution would protect rights, shared power between the central
and regional government, instituted the system of checks and balances.
5. Who were the main advocates for ratification/ adoption of the
Constitution?
Federalists and antifederalists.
Federalists wanted a strong constitution with a strong central government.
Antifederalists did not want that, because they thought that it would make
the poor ones weak and fragile by the hand of rich ones.
 Unit 3:

1. Who was the first President of the United States? What were some of the
important things he did as a President?
Geoge Washington was the first president of the United States. He did great
changes: plained the republic interest before his own, he stabilized the first
cabinets, including secretary of state, treasury, and war. He was against
political parties.
He also created the Bill of Rights and the Farawell address.
2. Who was Alexander Hamilton? What did he do to help America’s finance?
He was the secretary of treasure during Geoge’s government. He also
helped Tomas Jefferson to be the second American President.
He created a financial plan to create a national bank in order to pay the
national debt.
3. What was important about the Supreme Court case Marbury vs. Madison?
This decision stated that the Constitution took legal priority and also the
principle of judicial review.
4. What were two of the important things Tomas Jefferson did as President?
He supported the Democratic-Republican party. He defended the right of
“freedom” (just for white men), which meant that everybody should have
the right to have property. He bought the Louisiana territory from France. He
helped to explore the West of the US.
5. Who were Lewis and Clark? Why are they important to American History?
They were friends that explored the West of the current United States. they
were important for the North-American history because they were in touch
with populations that they never heard of and discovered new lands and
opportunities.

Unit 4:

1. How did the Industrial Revolution impacted the United States?

The industrial revolution gave the North of the United States their economic
basis (the main source of income), American inventors invented lots of
facilities to produce faster or help in the ground. And gave the South more
and more customers to buy Cotton, thanks to textile fabrics.
2. What were two of the major innovations of the early 1800s? How did they
impact the U.S?
 Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, revolutionized Southern agriculture.
Francis Cabot invented a workable power loom, a machine that produces
fabric.
3. Summarize some of the important events in Andrew Jackson’s presidency
He reduced the Federal Debt, He removed Native Americans from their
lands. Defended market economy. Favored the West expansion. he didn’t
favor the creation of the second national bank.
4. By 1850, how were the North and South different?
North was more industrialized, worked with European immigrant labor. The
South produced cotton for exportation (that region was called “King
Cotton” for a long time), dependent on slave labor.
5. What caused the anti-immigrant sentiment during the 1800s? Why were
immigrants coming to the U.S?
The immigrants were different from the people who already lived there
(they had different religions, spoke different languages) they brought
diseases with them, and crime, alcoholism grew. They tried to escape from
lots of revolutions that were happening in Europe.

Unit 5:

1. There were many social problems in the US in the early 1800s. Name one
person or group who tried to address these issues and try to describe how
they address the issue.
Quakers, Unitarians, Protestants, and other religious groups tried to solve
problems like urbanization, immigration, illiteracy, and slavery.
2. Name an American author, artist, poet, or philosopher from this time period
and explain how their work reflected America at this time.
The poet Walt Whitman. He used free verses to promote free spirit in
American Democracy. Nathaniel and Herman opened the doors of
American literature to sin, guilt, and so on.
3. What was Manifest Destiny?
The idea that God wanted that America had the lands from the East to the
West Coast.
4. During this time period, what country did the US gets most of its new land
from?
Mexico, after the Mexican-American war.
 5. What was the abolisionit moviment? Who were some of the main people
involved?
This movement proposes the end of slavery forever. Some of the main
people involved were Willian Garicson, Teodore Wels, and some former
slaves as Frederick Douglass and Hariot Tubman.

Unit 6:

1. During the 1850s, what was the main issue between the North and South?
The main issue of that time period was slavery labor
2. What is the ruling in the case Dred Scoot v. Standford?
This case outlaw any rights that Black people had or could have in the
future. It also said that slaves were property.
3. Who was the president of the United States in 1860? Who was the president
of the confederacy?
Abraham Lincon was elected the president of the United States and
Jefferson Davis the president of the Confederate states.
4. What was the Emancipation Declaration?
The emancipation declaration was a document that Lincon wrote saying
that all slaves(from all the States) were free from that moment and on.
5. Why is the Civil War considered the first modern war?
This was is considered the first modern war because it is the first war that
happened during a period where factories and technology could create
technology to kill and to communicate with the front battle.
This war created hot air balloons, guns, and so on.
6. What were two of the problems or issues in the US during the
Reconstruction period?
Many men were killed in that battle, families were destroyed. Many
southern fields were devastated and it wasn’t any labor (slaves gain liberty
and men were killed)

Unit 7:

1. What did the Railroads do to help Westward expansion?

The Transcontinental railroad spurred western settlement, besides, those
constructions helped to grow the national economy.
2. What were some of the jobs people had in the West?
 People who wanted to live there could be a miner, cowboy, lumberjack,
farmer, and so on.
3. Explain the assimilation policy used between the US government and the
Native Americans
Until about 1880, the US government had a policy where all native
Americans should abandon their lands and move to a determined space
where they could hunt, and exercise their culture. However, as Native
Americans obviously resisted this policy, it led to armed conflicts with the
nation. the government understood that the only way to solve the
“problem” was to Americanize the Native Americans by sending their
children to boarding school, and o divide the reservation with families who
would use the land to farm.
4. Why did labor involve during this time? Give an example of one specific
union
The riot wrongly identified the Knights of Labor with anarchists, causing a
decline in union membership. Samuel Gompers filled the gap by creating
an alliance of craft unions, named the American Federation of Labor, in
order to bargain the wages, working conditions and to determine the time
of work.
5. Name one group of immigrants and the area in which they settled during
this time period.
Irish people settled in the northeast cities.