The French and Indian War: a fight over the Ohio Valley, and what it led to

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   The war turns, 1755 to 1762 (cards A to D, summaries in our words from the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian). Card A, 1755: Britain sent General Edward Braddock to command its forces in North America. He lost the support of possible Native allies, colonial leaders did not cooperate with him, and his expedition against Fort Duquesne failed. Card B, 1757 to 1759: after 1757 the war began to turn in Britain's favor. In 1759 British armies invaded and conquered Canada. Card C, 1761 to 1762: British minister William Pitt demanded that France give up Canada and also asked for trade concessions that the French government found unacceptable. Talks failed. On August 15, 1761, France and Spain signed the Family Compact. Under it, Spain would declare war on Britain if the war had not ended by May 1, 1762. It was meant to pressure Britain into peace, but it renewed France's will to continue the war. Britain declared war on Spain on January 4, 1762. Card D, 1762: British naval strength and Spanish weakness led to British success. British forces seized French Caribbean islands, Spanish Cuba and the Philippines.

2. 1.

   A student claims the Family Compact did not matter to the war. How strong is that claim, given card C, Bo asks?

   • Weak: card C says it renewed France's will to fight and brought Spain into the war
   • Strong: card C says France was already ready to make peace before the Compact was signed
   • Weak: card C says it ended the war, so it mattered more than any other event
   • Strong: card C says Spain stayed out of the war, so the Compact changed nothing
3. 2.

   The Family Compact said Spain would join the war by May 1, 1762, yet Britain declared war on Spain on January 4. What does that show, Esme asks?

   • The Compact had ended before Britain acted, so Spain was no longer bound by it
   • Britain chose to strike before the Compact's deadline rather than wait
   • Spain broke its promise to join by May, so Britain answered with a declaration
   • Spain had already attacked Britain in 1761, so Britain declared war in reply
4. 3.

   A student writes: "Britain won because it was stronger at sea." How well does card D support that claim, Jun asks?

   • Fully: card B says Britain's navy alone conquered Canada from the French in 1759
   • Fully: card D credits British naval strength alone for the victory over Spain
   • No support: card D does not mention the sea, the navy or any British ships
   • Partly: card D credits naval strength and also Spanish ineffectiveness
5. 4.

   To learn what Pitt wanted from France in 1761, which source is best, Kira asks?

   • A modern textbook that retells Pitt's demands
   • Pitt's own instructions and letters from 1761
   • The 1763 treaty text, since it was signed later
   • A French newspaper praising the Family Compact
6. 5.

   Cards C and D are about the same year, 1762. Which pair of facts do they support together, Luz asks?

   • Spain joined France, and Spain's navy seized British lands in the Caribbean
   • Spain joined France, and Britain's navy seized Spanish and French lands
   • The war ended in May, and Britain kept the lands it had seized in 1762
   • Spain stayed neutral, and Britain seized just French islands in the Caribbean

7. Use this

   The Treaty of Paris, 1763. Card E, the treaty text (February 10, 1763; written for the kings of Britain, France and Spain; spelling as printed; cuts marked). Article IV: "… his Most Christian Majesty cedes and guaranties to his said Britannick Majesty, in full right, Canada, with all its dependencies …" Article VII: the boundary "shall be fixed irrevocably by a line drawn along the middle of the River Mississippi … except the town of New Orleans and the island in which it is situated, which shall remain to France …". Card F, a summary in our words from the Office of the Historian: at the time of the first peace deal in November 1762, France and Spain also agreed that French Louisiana, west of the Mississippi, would go to Spain. In return for keeping Cuba, Spain handed Florida to Britain. Card G, the same source: Native peoples on the old frontier could no longer play the French and British against each other to win good terms and protect their lands. Card H, the same source: for the colonists the treaty seemed a success, because they no longer had to worry about a French invasion. Card I, the same source: the French negotiator, Choiseul, chose to keep the Caribbean islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe and St. Lucia rather than Canada. Their sugar industry was very profitable, and Canada had been a drain on the French treasury.

8. 6.

   Card E is the treaty text, written by diplomats for kings. What can it show best, Noah asks?

   • How most colonists felt about the peace, as shown in the treaty's words
   • How the treaty's boundaries were enforced in 1770 and in the years that followed
   • What Native nations on the old frontier thought of it when it was signed
   • What the governments agreed on paper, though not how it worked out
9. 7.

   Cards G and H describe the treaty from two sides. What best sums up the contrast, Pia asks?

   • Native peoples gained land while colonists lost it, as Britain redrew the old frontier
   • Colonists lost a rival to fear; Native peoples lost the chance to balance two powers
   • Both gained because Canada changed hands, and neither side lost anything by the treaty
   • Both gained a new protector in Britain, which now ruled Canada and the western forts
10. 8.

    Card I says France kept sugar islands rather than Canada. What does that choice show about France's aims, Ren asks?

    • France wanted to move its colonists out of Canada and settle them on the islands
    • France valued Canada's furs above its other lands and refused to give it up
    • France had lost the battles, so it had no choice about which lands to keep
    • France judged the islands' sugar profits worth more than Canada's costs
11. 9.

    A student writes: "After 1763 the colonists no longer needed Britain." How strong is that claim, given card H, Tala asks?

    • Strong: card H says Britain left the colonies once the French threat had ended
    • Weak: card H is a modern summary, so it cannot count as evidence of what colonists thought
    • Partly: the French threat ended, but card H does not show them wanting to leave
    • Strong: card H says colonists were glad to be rid of Britain once the war was won
12. 10.

    Which evidence would best settle whether France gave Louisiana to Spain in 1762, Zee asks?

    • Card F, since the State Department wrote it and the State Department checks its facts
    • The France–Spain agreement itself, checked against both governments' records
    • Article VII of the 1763 treaty alone, since it names the Mississippi as a boundary
    • A British newspaper from 1763 reporting what people in London said about the deal