Europe
Mayflower
Pilgrims
Natives
Thanksgiving
100

Why did most colonists first come to the new world?

A. Potato famine

B. To escape the English Church

C. Living costs were to high

To escape the English church - The colonists, particularly the Puritans, needed to escape the English Church because they believed it was too heavily influenced by Catholic rituals and practices, and they wanted the freedom to worship according to their own interpretation of the Bible, which often meant a simpler form of worship without the hierarchy and traditions of the Church of England; this desire for religious autonomy led them to seek new settlements in America where they could establish their own churches without persecution 

100

What year did the Mayflower land in the new world?

A. 1812

B. 1620

C. 1780

1620 - Mayflower was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620 

100

What is the most famous colonist ship?

A. Mayflower

B. Godspeed

C. Discovery

Mayflower - Mayflower was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, Mayflower, with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reached what is today the United States, dropping anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on November 21, 1620. 

100

What did the Natives do to help the Pilgrims?

A. Provide medical care

B. Taught them how to plant crops, hunt, fish, and survive the harsh New England winters

C.  Showed them how to make clothes and build homes

Taught them how to plant crops, hunt, fish, and survive the harsh New England winters - Native Americans, specifically the Wampanoag tribe, helped the Pilgrims by teaching them how to plant crops, hunt, fish, and survive the harsh New England winters, essentially saving them from starvation by sharing their knowledge of the land and food sources; this is often cited as the basis for the first Thanksgiving feast where they celebrated their shared harvest together. 

100

How long did the first Thanksgiving last?

A. 5  Hours

B. 3 Days

C. 1 Month

3 Days - Together, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag visitors “entertained and feasted” for three days. Since he didn't think it was important, Winslow kept his version of the event brief. He never used the word “thanksgiving.”

200

Why did the colonists decide to leave Amsterdam?

A. They got kicked out

B. They were offended by Amsterdam's culture and way of life

C. Fear that they would lose their English language and heritage

Fear that they would lose their English language and heritage - The Separatists, also known as the Pilgrims, left Amsterdam because they encountered significant theological disputes and disagreements with other separatist groups within the city, prompting them to move to Leiden, Netherlands, where they felt they could practice their religion more freely and without as much internal conflict; essentially, they sought a more unified and stable religious community away from the turmoil in Amsterdam 

200

Where did the Mayflower first land?

A. Cape Canaveral

B. Cape Cod

C. Cape May

Cape Cod - Modern day Provincetown, Massachusetts - 

The Mayflower first landed in the United States at what is now Provincetown, Massachusetts on November 21, 1620. The Mayflower was an English ship carrying 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, including the Pilgrims, who were English families looking to start a new life in the New World. The Pilgrims had originally planned to settle in the Colony of Virginia, but were forced to turn back due to rough seas. Instead, they decided to stay and explore Cape Cod, where they eventually settled in Plymouth.

200

Where was the first permanent colony established?

A. Miami, FL

B. Jamestown, VA

C. Winchester, CA

Jamestown, Virginia - The Jamestown[a] settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River, about 2.5 mi (4 km) southwest of present-day Williamsburg.[1] It was established by the London Company as "James Fort" on May 4, 1607 O.S. (May 14, 1607 N.S.),[2] and considered permanent, after brief abandonment in 1610. It followed failed attempts, including the Roanoke Colony, established in 1585. Despite the dispatch of more supplies, only 60 of the original 214 settlers survived the 1609–1610 Starving Time. In mid-1610, the survivors abandoned Jamestown, though they returned after meeting a resupply convoy in the James River.

200

Who was the first native to meet the Pilgrims?

A. Pocahontas 

B. Sacagawea 

C. Samoset

Samoset - Samoset was an Abenaki sagamore and the first American Indian to make contact with the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony in New England. He startled the colonists on March 16, 1621 by walking into Plymouth Colony and greeting them in English, saying "Welcome, Englishmen." 


200

About how many pounds of Turkey are purchased around Thanksgiving each year?

A. 365 Million

B. 300,000

C. 3,000 

365 million - Americans buy about 365 million pounds of turkey during the week of Thanksgiving. The average weight of a turkey purchased for Thanksgiving is 16 pounds. This means that Americans eat around 46 million turkeys on Thanksgiving. 

300

Before coming to America, where did the Separatists move to?

A. Amsterdam

B. Russia

C. France

Amsterdam - The Separatists, also known as the Pilgrims, went to Amsterdam because it was one of the few places in Europe at the time that offered religious tolerance, allowing them to escape persecution in England where they were not allowed to practice their beliefs freely within the Church of England; they initially sought refuge in Amsterdam to practice their own form of Protestant worship without facing legal repercussions. 

300

What kind of ship was the Mayflower originally?

A. Pirate

B. Naval

C. Merchant

Merchant Ship - 

English merchant ships in the 1600s were typically three-masted ships with square sails on the bowsprit, foremast, and mainmast, and a lateen sail on the mizzenmast. The three-masted rig gave the ships more maneuverability than ships with one or two masts. However, some ships did have one or two masts. Merchant ships were vital to Britain, bringing in oil, food, and raw materials, and exporting manufactured goods to pay for imports. 

300

What became the most prosperous colony of the Massachusetts region?

A. New York

B. Boston

C. Philadelphia 

Boston - The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The lands of the settlement were in southern New England, with initial settlements on two natural harbors and surrounding land about 15.4 miles (24.8 km) apart—the areas around Salem and Boston, north of the previously established Plymouth Colony. The territory nominally administered by the Massachusetts Bay Colony covered much of central New England, including portions of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. 

300

What tribe was the first to befriend the Pilgrims?

A. Apache

B. Wampanoag

C. Powhatan

Wampanoag - The Wampanoag and the Pilgrims initially established a peaceful relationship based on a mutual exchange of food and weaponry. The Wampanoag taught the Pilgrims how to hunt, plant crops, and harvest their land. The Wampanoag's respect for nature and the land allowed them to share their resources with the Pilgrims, saving them from starvation. This peaceful coexistence is symbolized by the first Thanksgiving feast in October 1621 

300

What traditional food was NOT served at the first Thanksgiving?

A. Squash

B. Corn

C. Turkey

Turkey - Turkey was probably not served at the first Thanksgiving because it was not common in New England in 1621. Turkey became a popular dish to serve on Thanksgiving by the turn of the 19th century. Spanish explorers brought wild turkeys from Mexico and Central America to Europe in the 1500s. 

400

Why did colonists want to escape the English church?

A. They believed that the Church of England was hopelessly corrupt and incapable of reform

B. They wanted to change religions

C. They didn't like the new Pastor

They believed that the Church of England was hopelessly corrupt and incapable of reform - Separatists believed the Church of England was corrupt because they felt it retained too many practices from the Catholic Church, including rituals and church hierarchy, which they saw as straying from the true teachings of the Bible; they also criticized the church leadership for not upholding proper behavior and failing to purify the church from within, leading them to separate and form their own independent congregations. 


400

A second ship was originally travelling with the Mayflower, but had to turn back, what was its name?

A. USS Constitution 

B. Mayflower

C. RMS Titanic

Speedwell - a 60-ton pinnace that carried a band of English Dissenters now popularly called the Pilgrims from Leiden, Holland, to England, whence they intended to sail to America aboard both the Speedwell and the Mayflower in 1620. The Pilgrims initially set sail in both ships, but Speedwell was found to be unseaworthy and both ships returned to England. The Pilgrims later left Speedwell behind and sailed in the Mayflower alone. 

400

How many ships total transported colonists to Plymouth?

A. 11

B. 15

C. 4

4 - Four ships carried colonists to Plymouth Colony: the Mayflower in 1620, the Fortune in 1621, and the Anne and Little James in 1623. The passengers on these first four ships were called the "Old Comers" of Plymouth Colony. They were given special treatment in later colonial affairs. 

400

How long had the Wampanoag tribe been around before the Pilgrims showed up?

A. 12000 years

B. 40 million years

C. 500 years

12000 years - The Wampanoag were the first tribe the Pilgrims encountered when they landed in Provincetown Harbor. The Wampanoag were a confederation of nearly 70 villages, each with its own chief, or sachem. The Wampanoag's name means "People of the First Light" or "Eastern People" 

400

Where was the first Thanksgiving celebrated?

A. Bar Harbor, ME

B. Plymouth, MA

C. New Haven, CT

Plymouth, MA - The term "First Thanksgiving" was not used at the time, and much of what is known about the event comes from accounts written decades or centuries later. For example, it's unlikely that the Pilgrims served sweet cranberry sauce, as their cranberries were probably more tart. They also didn't have potatoes, butter, wheat flour, or an oven, so pumpkin pie would have been impossible. 

500

What was the punishment for breaking away from the English church?

A. Banishment from the country

B. High treason, punishable by death

C. There was no punishment

High treason, punishable by death - Historically, the punishment for breaking away from the Church of England could include imprisonment, fines, exile, and in extreme cases, execution, depending on the severity of the offense and the reigning monarch's religious policies, particularly during periods of intense religious persecution like the reign of Mary I ("Bloody Mary") when practicing Catholicism outside the established Church of England was heavily punished 

500

About how many Americans are said to be descendants of those who were aboard the Mayflower?

A. 10 billion

B. 100 thousand

C. 35 million

35 Million - Only 51 out of the 102 passengers on the Mayflower had children. Amazingly, just 12 or 16 generations later, an estimated 35 million people can trace their ancestry to one of these 51 "first comers." 

(Humphrey Bogart, Amelia Earhart, Clint Eastwood, Katherine Hepburn)

500

What famous colony went missing in 1590?

A. Pensacola 

B. Roanoke

C. Jamestown


Roanoke - In 1587 a small colony was founded on an island off the eastern coast of North America. The settlement would have been the first permanent English colony in the New World, had the settlers not disappeared owing to unknown circumstances. The lost colony of Roanoke is one of the most-notorious mysteries in American history; the cryptic clues left at the abandoned settlement and the lack of any concrete evidence make it the focus of wild speculation and theories.

500

What do some natives do as protest every year on Thanksgiving?

A. National Day of Mourning

B. The Longest Walk

C. Occupation of Alcatraz Island

The National Day of Mourning (NDOM) is a day of remembrance and protest for Native Americans - A "National Day of Mourning" is a day designated for public mourning and remembrance, usually observed on the anniversary of a significant tragedy or the death of a prominent figure, where a nation collectively expresses grief and solidarity through various commemorative activities; in the United States, the term specifically refers to a day observed by Native Americans on Thanksgiving, protesting the historical injustices inflicted upon them by European colonists, organized by the United American Indians of New England (UAINE) as a day to reflect on the struggles of Indigenous peoples and the true history of Thanksgiving. 

500

Who proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday?

A. Samuel Adams

B. Abraham Lincoln

C. George Washington

Abraham Lincoln - President Abraham Lincoln had declared Thanksgiving a national holiday on the last Thursday in November in 1863 and tradition dictated that it be celebrated on the last Thursday of that month. 

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