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VirginiaUS History

Reporting Category 1: Virginia and United States History to 1865

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How did three colonial regions develop, and how did slavery take root?

Describe the three colonial regions (New England, Middle, Southern), how geography shaped their economies, the development of representative self-government, and the growth of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.3).
A SOL-level answer on colonial society for the VUS exam: the three regions and how geography shaped New England, Middle, and Southern economies, the spread of self-government, the shift from indentured servitude to chattel slavery, and the transatlantic slave trade and Middle Passage.
12 min answer →

How did European exploration connect the hemispheres and reshape three continents?

Explain how early European exploration and colonization, and the Columbian Exchange, produced cultural and biological interactions among Europeans, Africans, and American Indians (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.2).
A SOL-level answer on early exploration for the VUS exam: the motives for European exploration (God, gold, glory), the major colonizing powers and their patterns, the Columbian Exchange of plants, animals, people, and disease, and the catastrophic impact on American Indian populations.
12 min answer →

How do historians analyze sources, evidence, and geography to build an argument about the past?

Demonstrate historical and geographical analysis skills: analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources, evaluate the credibility of evidence, sequence events, use maps and charts, and communicate a supported argument (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.1).
A SOL-level answer on the historical thinking skills for the VUS exam: analyzing primary and secondary sources, judging the credibility of evidence, identifying point of view and bias, sequencing events, reading maps and charts, and building a supported argument, the VUS.1 skills tested on almost every item.
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Why is Jamestown a turning point in American history, and what did Virginia pioneer?

Describe the founding of Jamestown and the Virginia colony, the role of the Virginia Company, the House of Burgesses (1619) as the first elected assembly, the arrival of the first Africans (1619), and the tobacco economy (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.2, VUS.3).
A SOL-level answer on Jamestown for the VUS exam: the Virginia Company and the 1607 founding, the early struggles and tobacco's rescue of the colony, the House of Burgesses (1619) as the first elected legislature in English America, the arrival of the first Africans (1619), and Virginia's foundational role.
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How did the colonies win independence against the British Empire?

Describe the major events, turning points, and reasons for American victory in the Revolutionary War, including Washington's leadership, Saratoga, French aid, and Yorktown (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.4).
A SOL-level answer on the Revolutionary War for the VUS exam: George Washington's leadership, the turning point at Saratoga and the resulting French alliance, the hardship at Valley Forge, the victory at Yorktown, and the reasons a smaller force defeated the British Empire.
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Why did colonists move from loyal British subjects to revolutionaries?

Explain the causes of the American Revolution: British policies after 1763, taxation without representation, the influence of Enlightenment ideas and Common Sense, and the Declaration of Independence (Virginia 2015 History and Social Science SOL VUS.4).
A SOL-level answer on the causes of the Revolution for the VUS exam: British taxation after the French and Indian War, no taxation without representation, escalating protest, the Enlightenment and Locke, Paine's Common Sense, and the Declaration of Independence and its natural-rights argument.
12 min answer →