Colonial America: place each person and event

This topic asks about people and events from the colonies, the fight for independence, and the start of the new government. In the oral interview, listen for the task word: a person, a date, a reason, or an example.

Build a small timeline

Keep four points in order. In 1776, the colonies declared that they were separate from Britain. In 1787, delegates met and drafted a new plan of government. That plan began to operate in 1789. In 1791, the first ten amendments were approved. This order helps when several important dates look familiar.

The thirteen original states grew from British colonies on the Atlantic coast. They were New Hampshire; Massachusetts; Rhode Island; Connecticut; New York; New Jersey; Pennsylvania; Delaware; Maryland; Virginia; North Carolina; South Carolina; and Georgia. Learn the group as a north-to-south chain, then choose any three names from it when the question asks for three.

For a question about conflict with Britain, remember three connected complaints. Parliament demanded money from colonists who had no representatives there. British soldiers could be housed in colonial homes. Britain also limited local self-rule. For a question about who was already on the continent before newcomers from Europe, start with the people whose communities had lived there for thousands of years.

Common traps

• Mixing the four dates. The Declaration of Independence belongs to 1776, delegates wrote a new constitution in 1787, the new government started in 1789, and the first amendments were approved in 1791.
• Giving one famous founder another founder's job. Adams and Franklin helped review the Declaration of Independence, but Jefferson prepared its main draft. Washington was leading the army then. The Publius essays belong to Hamilton, Madison, and Jay.
• Treating later arrivals as the first people on the continent. Pilgrims, English settlers, and Spanish missionaries all came after contact with Europe; Native peoples were present much earlier.
• Choosing a different dispute as the cause of the break with Britain. Joining France, ending slavery, and a refusal to protect the colonies are offered as decoys. The tested complaints concern representation, soldiers in homes, and self-government.

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