GED Social Studies : Other Revolutionary History

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GED Social Studies

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #26 : United States History

What was the name given to a grant from the English King to establish a colony in the New World in the years before independence?

Possible Answers:

charter.

reproachment.

appellate.

pact.

embargo.

Correct answer:

charter.

Explanation:

A charter was a legal document granted by the English King, or British government, that granted an individual or corporation the right to establish a colony in the New World in the years before independence. There were different types of charters—proprietary charters gave control of land to one man, who was effectively autonomous but owed allegiance to the British crown; a joint stock charter allowed a corporation, or group of individuals, collectively to own land and establish a colony; royal charters created colonies directly controlled by the crown.

Example Question #1 : Other Revolutionary History

American attempts to ensure safe passage for American merchants by engaging the US Navy with the pirate fleets of North Africa were called __________.

Possible Answers:

The XYZ Affair

The Wars of Impressment

The Gulf Wars

The Spanish-American War

The Barbary Wars

Correct answer:

The Barbary Wars

Explanation:

The Barbary Wars, first in 1801, during the administration of Thomas Jefferson, and again in 1815, during the presidency of James Madison, were fought to ensure safe and free passage for American merchant ships in North Africa. At the time American merchant ships were subject to harassment and capture by pirate ships in the Mediterranean, near North Africa. The Barbary Wars were fought by the United States Navy against these pirates and resulted in an American victory.

Example Question #2 : Other Revolutionary History

The Proclamation of 1763 declared that __________.

Possible Answers:

American colonists had to quarter British troops in their houses during wartime and occasionally in peacetime

the American population was in open rebellion against the British government

American colonists could not settle beyond the Appalachian mountains

the financial burden for the French-Indian War would be assumed by the British population

American colonists could not purchase goods that were not sold or manufactured in Great Britain

Correct answer:

American colonists could not settle beyond the Appalachian mountains

Explanation:

The Proclamation of 1763 was issued by the British government very shortly after the French-Indian War ended. It stated that the American colonists were now prohibited from settling beyond the Appalachian Mountains. This was done mostly to appease the Native-American allies of the British government, but it greatly angered the colonists. The end of the French-Indian War is considered the turning point that led to the American Revolution. Because the victory of the British over the French removed the threat of French invasion of the American colonies, the colonists no longer had to rely on British protection; furthermore, the British government felt that the colonists ought to be paying the cost of defending their lands, whereas the colonists felt that the British government had no right to tax them without allowing them representation in government. This situation led to a rapid and significant loss of faith between the two peoples, and revolution broke out a little more than a decade later.

Example Question #3 : Other Revolutionary History

Which of these English laws most directly led to the First Continental Congress?

Possible Answers:

The Stamp Act

The Tea Act

The Impressment Acts

The Sugar Act

The Intolerable Acts

Correct answer:

The Intolerable Acts

Explanation:

The Intolerable Acts were passed by the British Empire in the wake of the Boston Tea Party and were designed to deter future potential rebels from contemplating revolution; however, this only served to heighten the angered feelings of the colonists and contributed directly to the calling together of the First Continental Congress.

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors