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

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   The Ohio Valley, 1753 to 1754 (cards A to D, summaries in our words from the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian). Card A, France: in 1753 the French built a string of forts from Lake Erie toward the forks of the Ohio River, where Pittsburgh stands today, to limit British influence along their frontier. Card B, Virginia: Virginia also claimed the region. In late 1753 Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie sent Major George Washington to order the French to leave. The French commander at Fort Le Boeuf received Washington politely but denied that the English claim was valid. Card C, Native peoples of the upper Ohio Valley: many worried about colonists taking their land and accepted neither British nor Iroquois authority over them. Many also feared French power, but they judged a French alliance the lesser of two evils. The Iroquois Confederacy was allied with Great Britain. Card D, spring and summer of 1754: on April 17 French forces made a small Virginia fort at the forks of the Ohio surrender, destroyed it and built Fort Duquesne there. On July 3 a combined French and Native force made Washington surrender his own fort.

2. 1.

   Which cards best explain why Dinwiddie sent Washington to the French in 1753, Ari asks?

   • C alone: Iroquois leaders ordered Virginia to act
   • A and D: the French had already destroyed a Virginia fort
   • B and C: Native peoples asked Virginia to drive the French away
   • A and B: French forts were rising on land Virginia also claimed
3. 2.

   Cards A, B and D together show how a dispute turned into fighting. Which explanation do they best support, Bo asks?

   • Washington's 1754 surrender led France to build its first forts along the Ohio River
   • The Iroquois Confederacy asked Britain to send Washington west to order the French out
   • Native peoples began the fighting to push both empires out of the Ohio Valley for good
   • Rival claims led both sides to build or take forts, each trying to seize the other's
4. 3.

   Card C says many upper Ohio peoples leaned toward France. What best explains why, Esme asks?

   • They feared colonists taking their land more than they feared France
   • The Iroquois Confederacy told them to ally with France
   • They were French subjects and had to obey French orders
   • Washington's fort stood closer to their villages than any French fort
5. 4.

   A student writes: "The Ohio Valley fight was only a quarrel between France and Britain." How strong is that claim, given card C, Jun asks?

   • Strong: card C says Native peoples took no side in the quarrel over the Ohio
   • Weak: card C shows Native peoples had their own aims and choices
   • Weak: card D says no Native forces were present at the fort in 1754
   • Strong: cards A and B name just France and Virginia as the two sides
6. 5.

   These cards are a modern summary. To read the French commander's exact answer to Washington in 1753, which source is best, Kira asks?

   • A school textbook that retells the summary in simpler words
   • A map of the forts drawn long after the war
   • A guidebook to Fort Duquesne's site
   • A report from someone who was at Fort Le Boeuf in 1753
7. 6.

   Cards A and D come from different months. What do they support together, Luz asks?

   • Virginia held the forks of the Ohio by the end of 1754
   • The Iroquois Confederacy had joined France
   • France was tightening its hold on the Ohio forks
   • Britain had already declared war on France

8. Use this

   Union in 1754 (cards E to G, summaries in our words from the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian). Card E, the plan: in July 1754, representatives of seven colonies meeting at Albany, New York, adopted a Plan of Union. It covered the British colonies except Georgia and Delaware. Colonial governments would choose a Grand Council, and the king's government would appoint a president general. Together they would manage relations with Native peoples and settle disputes between colonies. Card F, the result: colonial governments, sensing the plan would reduce their own authority and territorial rights, either rejected it or did not act on it. The British government had already sent General Edward Braddock and two commissioners for Native relations, and believed directives from London would be enough. Card G, the cartoon: in 1754 Benjamin Franklin's newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, printed a cartoon of a snake cut into pieces, one piece for each colony, urging the colonies to unite.

9. 7.

   Which explanation for why the Albany Plan never took effect do cards E and F best support, Milo asks?

   • Colonial governments feared it would cut their own power, so they rejected or ignored it
   • The British government banned it before the colonies could vote, so London's order ended it
   • France demanded that the colonies stay divided, so each colony dropped the plan quickly
   • Delaware and Georgia voted it down at Albany, so the other colonies could not adopt it
10. 8.

    A student says the Albany Plan shows colonists wanted independence in 1754. How strong is that claim, given cards E and F, Pia asks?

    • Strong: card E lets the colonies choose their own council, so they wanted self-rule
    • Strong: card F shows the colonies rejected British rule, so they wanted independence
    • Weak: card F says no colony met at Albany, so no plan was ever drawn up
    • Weak: card E has the king's government appoint the president general
11. 9.

    Cards E and G were made for different purposes. What idea do they share, Tala asks?

    • The colonies were already joined together as one government by 1754
    • Native peoples had asked the colonies to unite against France
    • Britain wanted the colonies to leave the empire and form a government of their own
    • The colonies needed to act together on shared problems
12. 10.

    Card F gives two views of the Albany Plan. How did colonial governments and the British government differ, Zee asks?

    • Colonial governments wanted London to rule everything; ministers wanted a union
    • Both wanted the plan adopted at once but disagreed about the date it would begin
    • Ministers feared Native peoples; colonial governments feared French power more than London
    • Colonial governments feared losing power; London thought its own orders were enough