SAT II US History : Representative Viewpoints in Intellectual and Cultural History from Pre-Columbian History to 1789

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Representative Viewpoints In Intellectual And Cultural History From Pre Columbian History To 1789

"The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind. Many circumstances hath, and will arise, which are not local, but universal, and through which the principles of all Lovers of Mankind are affected, and in the Event of which, their Affections are interested. The laying a Country desolate with Fire and Sword, declaring War against the natural rights of all Mankind, and extirpating the Defenders thereof from the Face of the Earth, is the Concern of every Man to whom Nature hath given the Power of feeling; of which Class, regardless of Party Censure, is the AUTHOR."

The above quote best reflects the thought of __________.

Possible Answers:

Andrew Jackson

Thomas Paine

Edmund Burke

Benedict Arnold

Frederick Douglass

Correct answer:

Thomas Paine

Explanation:

The quote actually comes from Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense, the most notable argument for American independence and individual rights among the colonists. A key identifier that this is Paine's writing is the mention of both "the cause of America," and the invocation of "natural rights of all Mankind."

Example Question #2 : Representative Viewpoints In Intellectual And Cultural History From Pre Columbian History To 1789

The settlers of the Plymouth colony were part of the religious group known as __________.

Possible Answers:

Separatists

Mormons

Antinomians

Quakers

Puritans

Correct answer:

Separatists

Explanation:

The settlers of Plymouth Colony had already sought refuge outside of England on the European continent, but to no avail. They decided to cross the Atlantic because they sought to create a "Separate" church from the Church of England, which they viewed as irredeemably corrupted. This distinguished them from "Puritans," who merely wished to completely "purify" the Church of England.

Example Question #3 : Representative Viewpoints In Intellectual And Cultural History From Pre Columbian History To 1789

The Massachusetts Bay Colony's leaders views on religious tolerance are best characterized as __________.

Possible Answers:

allowing for only one true belief system, orthodox Calvinism

allowing only strict Catholicism to be freely worshipped

providing freedom of worship for all Protestant Christians

providing freedom of worship for Christians and Jews only

providing freedom of worship for all Christians

Correct answer:

allowing for only one true belief system, orthodox Calvinism

Explanation:

While the leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were seeking a chance to worship more freely than in England, they did not wish for any true sense of religious freedom. All the political and religious leaders adhered to a strict form of Calvinist protestantism, and wanted to purify the Church of England along Calvinist lines. Citizens of Boston were required to attend church, and every church was controlled by the political leaders. Many dissenters, including Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, were exiled from the colony.

Example Question #4 : Representative Viewpoints In Intellectual And Cultural History From Pre Columbian History To 1789

The Lord will be our God, and delight to dwell among us, as His own people, and will command a blessing upon us in all our ways, so that we shall see much more of His wisdom, power, goodness and truth, than formerly we have been acquainted with. We shall find that the God of Israel is among us, when ten of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies; when He shall make us a praise and glory that men shall say of succeeding plantations, "may the Lord make it like that of New England." For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God, and all professors for God's sake. We shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are going.

The above quote represents what worldview?

Possible Answers:

Puritan Calvinism

Utopianism

Transcendentalism

Mormonism

Mercantilism

Correct answer:

Puritan Calvinism

Explanation:

The quote comes from John Winthrop's "A Model of Christian Charity", a speech delivered to the settlers of Massachusetts Bay Colony before they left their ship the Arabella in 1630. The invocations of God's plan, and the audience's role in the promotion of Christianity clearly indicate that this is a Christian sermon. Further, the mention of New England points to the Puritanism of early New England.

Example Question #4 : Representative Viewpoints In Intellectual And Cultural History From Pre Columbian History To 1789

Which of the following statements best represents the views of the Puritans towards the Church of England?

Possible Answers:

The Puritans wished to bring the Church of England back into communion with the Roman Catholic Church.

The Puritans wished to eliminate the more Catholic traditions and beliefs from the Church of England.

The Puritans wished to completely disassociate themselves from the Church of England.

The Puritans wished to bring the Church of England's doctrines, teachings, and worship styles to the New World.

The Puritans wished to reform the way in which Bishops were appointed in the Church of England.

Correct answer:

The Puritans wished to eliminate the more Catholic traditions and beliefs from the Church of England.

Explanation:

The Puritans were so-called because they wished to "purify" the Church of England of its more high church, Catholic elements such as elevated mass and the use of bishops. Puritans were expressly targeted in England in the first few decades of the seventeenth century, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by the leaders of England's Puritan community.

Example Question #5 : Representative Viewpoints In Intellectual And Cultural History From Pre Columbian History To 1789

"For we must consider that we shall be a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword through the world."

-John Winthrop

The above quote best expresses the Puritan belief in __________________.

Possible Answers:

religious tolerance

moral instruction

authority

republicanism

divine providence

Correct answer:

divine providence

Explanation:

While still onboard the Arbella, the ship that brought the original colonists to Boston, John Winthrop delivered a sermon entitled "A Modell of Christian Charity." Popularly known as the "City Upon a Hill" speech for its closing statement, the sermon outlined to the Puritans about to establish Massachusetts Bay Colony the divine providence they thought was guiding them. Winthrop's message was that their efforts would succeed because God was on their side.

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