colonial history wiki

21.	At the trial of Peter Zenger the court ruled that criticisms of the government were
	A.  by definition illegal.
	B.  universally permissible.
	C.  not libelous if factually accurate.
	D.  not libelous if the accused could prove that he meant no harm.
	E.  not libelous if the accuser could not demonstrate that anyone had been harmed.
Answer: C

True or false
Concerning what came to be know as Bacon's Rebellion, the two people involved couldn't have been more different.  Governor William Berkeley was born into wealth and power, while Nathaniel Bacon was born into poverty, but worked his way into a respectable, if meager, lifestyle.  Even though they agreed on little else, they both saw the value of enforcing Britain's Navigation Acts on the colony of Virginia.
{FALSE}

Besides the encroachment on their lands by the expanding Puritan settlements in the Massachusetts Bay area, a major source of increased tension came when the Europeans began to manufacture Indian wampum, the supply which was formerly controlled by the Pequot tribe themselves.  In addition, the tribe had experienced internal divisions which pitted indian against indian, so when war came, they provided less resistance than native americans would in other conflicts.  As a matter of fact, the tribe almost vanished entirely, but the Pequot have made a resurgence and are still in existence today.
{TRUE}

Both Marquis de Montcalm and James Wolfe had impressive military careers and experience.  Their credentials allowed them to advance to very high positions in their respective armed forces, Lieutenant-General and Major-General.  At the close of the French and Indian War, a final battle took place in Quebec, and both generals, evenly matched, neither with a significant military advantage over the other, met on the Plains of Abraham.  After a long, drawn-out engagement, both generals were killed and only due to British luck and French exhaustion did the battle result in an English victory.
{FALSE}

Jonathan Edwards' "fire and brimstone" sermons spoke about an angry and wrathful God who would banish human sinners in the fires of hell.  His position, although representative of the Great Awakening in colonial America, also ran contrary to the beliefs of many Enlightenment thinkers.  But the emotionalism that he brought to his revivalist flock of followers was not contradicted by other religious leaders and movements of the era.  The reception of divine grace into the human body and soul would, by necessity, always be accompanied by intense feelings and emotions.
{FALSE}

The important role played by the jury in court cases was on full display in the sedition libel case of newspaperman John Peter Zenger.  As a matter of fact, the prosecution against Zenger seemed to be winning, and even the judge ruled that whether the statements made in Zenger's New York Weekly Journal were truthful or not could not be considered by members of the jury.  In the end, the jury committed the act of nullification when they delivered their surprise verdict of "not guilty".  This case continues to serve as one of the nation's earliest rulings on freedom of the press.
{TRUE}

The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party and Britain's ensuing Coercive Acts.  It successfully organized citizen committees, called the Association, to carry out its declarations and resolves.  But its greatest success was in implementing its revolutionary goals and eventual separation of the colonies from Great Britain.  These principals were revealed in the document written mainly by Thomas Jefferson which came to be called the Declaration of Independence.
{FALSE}

Colonial reaction to the Stamp Tax of 1765 was unfavorable, and leaders called for its repeal.  Using the argument of "no taxation without representation", they refused to accept the position of "virtual representation", which Parliament supported.  Colonists were also aided in their cause when some British leaders, such as William Pitt, former Prime Minister and political "hero" of the French and Indian War openly referred to this Act as "improper taxing".  When violence, perpetrated by the Sons of Liberty, erupted against royal officials, William Pitt joined the colonists in successfully calling for a repeal of the Stamp Act.
{TRUE}

In reading accounts of the Boston Massacre, it is clear that differences exist and that blame for the incident is passed back and forth by the providers of those eyewitness accounts.  Even more important is the fact that today, when these accounts are interpreted by LCC college history students, that interpretations of the same documents are often not the same, and in some cases, opposite of one another.
{TRUE}