Names in Early American History Quiz

Answer: Pocahontas

Pocahontas (1596-1617) was born as Amounte but her name was later changed to Matowaka and then again to Pocahontas which means "playful one". Pocahontas was actually a nickname she received as a child because of her carefree nature. Lady Rebecca was the name she was given once she was baptized in the Anglican Church.

Answer: Daniel Boone

During the American Revolution, settlers in Kentucky frequently clashed with the Native Americans living in the area. These attacks grew increasingly violent and many settlers left Kentucky as a result. On July 14, 1776, a group of Shawnee members kidnapped Daniel Boone's daughter Jemima and Elizabeth and Frances Callaway. All three girls were teenaged daughters of prominent colonial settlers in Kentucky.

Daniel Boone led a rescue party and they found the girls unharmed within three days. This event loosely influenced a similar scene in James Fenimore Cooper's novel "The Last of the Mohicans".

Answer: Mayflower

Christopher Jones was the captain of the Mayflower which brought Pilgrims from England to the New World. Jones did not stay in Plymouth permanently, although he did stay for a time to help start the settlement after a rough winter. He returned to England in 1621, and resumed his trading activities.

However, the harsh conditions of both the initial voyage to Plymouth and subsequent difficulties starting the new colony took its toll on his health. He died in 1622 at the age of 52.

Answer: Witchcraft

Alice Young (also listed as Alce Young) was a wealthy woman from Windsor, Connecticut who was accused of being a witch in 1647. No records exist of her trial but she was hanged on May 26, 1647. In 2017, she was exonerated, and her conviction overturned. What exactly led to her being accused as a witch is unknown. Unlike in other accusations of witchcraft, Alice Young's husband was still alive so it could not have been to steal her inheritance.

It has been speculated that Alice was scapegoated by the wealthy in Windsor after a flu epidemic killed many of the city's richest people.

Answer: Gilbert Tennant

The Great Awakening was the name given to the period of religious revival in the Thirteen Colonies during the early to mid 18th century. Gilbert Tennant was one of the leaders of the Great Awakening, although he was a divisive one. His fiery sermon, "The Danger of an Unconverted Ministry" caused the colonial Presbyterian Church to split in two.

Answer: He refused to publically oppose the Stamp Act

Thomas Hutchinson was Lt. Gov of Massachusetts Bay Colony at the time the British passed the Stamp Act, which placed heavy taxes on paper and other products. Hutchinson's brother-in-law was responsible for enforcing the law in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Hutchinson repeatedly refused to state his opposition to the law which led to a mob looting his house and eventually burning it down.

The mob was influenced by Samuel Adams and his cousin John although neither man played an active role in the mob.

Answer: Anne Hutchinson

Anne Hutchinson and her family relocate to New Amsterdam from Rhode Island after the death of her husband. In 1643, a group of Siwanoy murdered Anne and her family in an apparent feud with the local Narraganset tribe whom the Hutchinsons were friendly with. Wampage was the leader of this band and he claimed to personally have killed Anne.

However, the claim is dubious although Wampage later adopted the name Anne Hoek, apparently as a symbol of having killed her.

Answer: Andrew Jackson

Clay uttered these lines when Congress was debating the contested presidential election of 1824 in which he accused Andrew Jackson of having no qualifications to be president other than his service in the War of 1812 and the Battle of New Orleans. No candidate achieved the requisite number of electoral votes in order to become president. As a result, the House of Representatives selected the winner. Henry Clay was, at the time, Speaker of the House and in control of that body. He was also the fourth place finisher in the presidential election which meant he could not be selected by the House.

The alleged "Corrupt Bargain" for which this election would become infamous for saw Clay throw his support behind John Quincy Adams over his main rival Andrew Jackson. Adams then named Clay as Secretary of State which was seen as the best launching point to the presidency in a future election. Jackson called the deal a corrupt bargain after Clay convinced his allies to support Adams over William Crawford, the third-place finisher who was seen as closest to Clay ideologically.

Answer: Charles Dickinson

Andrew Jackson had a proclivity for participating in duels. Previous to his duel with Dickinson, he dueled both Sevier and Avery but in both cases everyone simply fired into the air. Jackson got into an argument with Dickinson over a racehorse and a comment Dickinson made about Jackson's wife Rachel. During the duel, Dickinson shot Jackson nonfatally in the chest. Jackson returned fire and killed Dickinson.

The duel ruined Jackson's reputation which would not recover until he became a hero during the War of 1812.

Answer: John Brown

In retaliation for the deaths of anti-slavery men in Lawrence, Kansas and the caning of Charles Sumner in 1856, John Brown and his followers, hacked five men to death in front of their families at Pottawatomie Creek. John Brown was later hanged in Charlestown for his role in the raid at Harper's Ferry where he attempted to start a slave rebellion in what was described as a possible prelude to larger skirmishes.

Answer: Dr. Emerson

Dr. Emerson died in 1843 and his widow Irene refused repeated offers from Scott to purchase his freedom. The ensuing Supreme Court case, Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857), was a controversial decision that declared that people of black African descent were never intended to be considered citizens under the U.S. Constitution and thus Scott and his wife were still considered slaves. Before Emerson died, he brought Scott and his wife Harriet into Wisconsin Territory, a free territory. Scott argued that because he was brought into free territory, he should have been free.

Answer: James Polk

"Fifty-Four Forty or Fight" refers to the dispute regarding the boundary of Oregon Territory. The slogan is commonly misattributed as a campaign slogan of James Polk during the Election of 1844. Polk, like many politicians, did not support setting the boundary of Oregon Territory at the 54,40 parallel north.

Instead, he preferred a compromise to avoid war. The slogan originated in Democratic media circles as a rallying cry.

Answer: Abel P. Upshur

Abel Upshur was U.S. Secretary of State under John Tyler. On February 9, 1844, Tyler, Upshur and others attended a demonstration on the USS Princeton. During a display of the ship's gunpower, one of the guns exploded and killed Upshur and five others including the Secretary of the Navy. Amongst the others who died was David Gardiner, the father of Tyler's future wife Julia, and Armistead, Tyler's slave valet.

Answer: John C. Fremont

John C. Fremont was an explorer, soldier during the Mexican-American War and the Republican Party's very first nominee for President. He was known as the Pathfinder of the West because of his efforts into western expansionism. He is also known as the Pathfinder of the Rocky Mountains where he spent much of his later life. During the Civil War, Fremont served in the Missouri area to prevent the Confederacy from gaining a foothold in the westernmost states.

Answer: Preston Brooks

The caning of Senator Sumner was one of many violent incidents during the lead up to the U.S. Civil War. Sumner had delivered a heated speech on the Senate floor denouncing slavery and those who perpetuated it. Amongst those targeted was Senator Andrew Butler, a cousin of Preston Brooks. Brooks, outraged, entered the Senate floor two days after the speech and attacked Sumner with his cane.

The reaction was divided along typical regional lines with the North outraged at the attack and the South supporting Brooks. Brooks was tried in court, convicted of assault and fined $300.