The Colonists Came to America for Many Reasons. Name One. Civics Question 73

Name one: freedom, political liberty, or religious freedom.

Question 73 says the colonists came to America for many reasons and asks you to name one. Freedom, political liberty and religious freedom are accepted answers, and so are economic opportunity and escaping persecution. One reason is the full answer.

What Each Reason Meant

Freedom. In much of Europe, your life was set by the family you were born into. The colonies were rough and dangerous, and they were also open. People crossed the ocean to live under fewer restrictions than the ones they left.

Political liberty. Colonists wanted a say in the rules they lived under. Colonial towns and colonies set up their own assemblies and made many of their own decisions, thousands of miles from the king.

Religious freedom. England told people how to worship and punished those who refused. The Pilgrims sailed in 1620 to practice their religion their own way, and other religious groups followed them for the same reason.

Economic opportunity. Land in the colonies was available in a way land in Europe was not, and work paid better for people with no property behind them.

Escape persecution. Some crossed to get away from governments that jailed or punished them for their beliefs.

Why the Officer Asks This

This is the first question in the American history section, and it explains what the colonies were for. The reasons the colonists sailed became the reasons they later broke from Britain, which is question 77, and the freedoms named here are the ones written into the Bill of Rights a century and a half later.

How to Remember One Reason

Most of the answers are one word with a coat on: freedom. Political liberty is freedom in government. Religious freedom is freedom in worship. Escaping persecution is freedom from punishment. Freedom by itself is on the list too, and so is economic opportunity.

Learn the bare word and you have an accepted answer no matter which way the question is worded.

What to Say on Test Day

Say “religious freedom.” Two words, then stop.

“Freedom” alone is also accepted, and so are “political liberty,” “economic opportunity” and “escape persecution.” Give one reason. The question says many reasons exist, and it still asks for one.