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.
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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.
Which cards best explain why Dinwiddie sent Washington to the French in 1753, Ari asks?
- A and D: the French had already destroyed a Virginia fort
- C alone: Iroquois leaders ordered Virginia to act
- A and B: French forts were rising on land Virginia also claimed
- B and C: Native peoples asked Virginia to drive the French away
Cards A, B and D together show how a dispute turned into fighting. Which explanation do they best support, Bo asks?
- The Iroquois Confederacy asked Britain to send Washington west to order the French out
- Rival claims led both sides to build or take forts, each trying to seize the other's
- Washington's 1754 surrender led France to build its first forts along the Ohio River
- Native peoples began the fighting to push both empires out of the Ohio Valley for good
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
- Strong: cards A and B name just France and Virginia as the two sides
- 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
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 map of the forts drawn long after the war
- A report from someone who was at Fort Le Boeuf in 1753
- A school textbook that retells the summary in simpler words
- A guidebook to Fort Duquesne's site
Cards A and D come from different months. What do they support together, Luz asks?
- The Iroquois Confederacy had joined France
- France was tightening its hold on the Ohio forks
- Virginia held the forks of the Ohio by the end of 1754
- Britain had already declared war on France
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.
Card G is a cartoon in a newspaper. Who was it meant to reach, and what was it meant to do, Noah asks?
- French officials, to end the fighting on the Ohio
- The king, to ask him to lower colonial taxes
- Colonial governors, to order them to fight France
- Colonists who read the paper, to urge them to unite
A student says the Albany Plan shows colonists wanted independence in 1754. How strong is that claim, given cards E and F, Pia asks?
- 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
- 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
Card F says colonial governments rejected or ignored the plan. Which evidence would best show which colonies did so and why, Ren asks?
- A painting of the Albany Congress made in 1900
- A map of the colonies drawn in 1754
- Franklin's cartoon, since it shows how each colony voted
- Colonial assembly records and letters from 1754 and 1755
Cards E and G were made for different purposes. What idea do they share, Tala asks?
- The colonies needed to act together on shared problems
- Britain wanted the colonies to leave the empire and form a government of their own
- The colonies were already joined together as one government by 1754
- Native peoples had asked the colonies to unite against France
Card F gives two views of the Albany Plan. How did colonial governments and the British government differ, Zee asks?
- Colonial governments feared losing power; London thought its own orders were enough
- 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 wanted London to rule everything; ministers wanted a union