1. Arrange students into groups. Each group needs at least ONE person who has a mobile device.
2. If their phone camera doesn't automatically detect and decode QR codes, ask students to
4. Cut them out and place them around your class / school.
1. Give each group a clipboard and a piece of paper so they can write down the decoded questions and their answers to them.
2. Explain to the students that the codes are hidden around the school. Each team will get ONE point for each question they correctly decode and copy down onto their sheet, and a further TWO points if they can then provide the correct answer and write this down underneath the question.
3. Away they go! The winner is the first team to return with the most correct answers in the time available. This could be within a lesson, or during a lunchbreak, or even over several days!
4. A detailed case study in how to set up a successful QR Scavenger Hunt using this tool can be found here.
Question | Answer |
1. EARLY CHALLENGES: Hamilton’s taxes led to rebellion in western Pennsylvania. The farmers were in an uproar over paying a special tax on the whiskey they made from surplus corn. In the backcountry most farmers lived by bartering – exchanging whiskey and other items they produced for goods they needed. They rarely had cash. How could they pay a tax on whiskey? | 8-2 | 2. The Whiskey Rebellion: The farmers’ resistance was mostly peaceful until July 1794, when federal officers stepped up efforts to collect the tax. Then a mob of about 500 people armed with swords, guns, and pitchforks attacked tax collectors and burned down buildings. Some chanted a slogan from the French Revolution – “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” – and waved a flag symbolizing an independent “country” in western Pennsylvania. The armed protest, called the Whiskey Rebellion, alarmed government leaders. President Washington personally led an army of about 13,000 soldiers to crush the challenge. The rebellion collapsed as soon as the army crossed the Appalachian Mountains. The Whiskey Rebellion set a milestone in determining how far people could go in protesting the laws of the new nation. By his action, Washington served notice on those who opposed government actions. If citizens wished to change the law, they had to do so peacefully, through constitutional means. Government would meet the force any threats to disturb the social order. | 8-2 | 3. Struggle Over the West: The new government faced problems in the West that were not easy to resolve. The Native Americans who lived between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River denied that the United States has any authority over them. On many occasions Native Americans turned to Britain and Spain to help them in their cause. Both countries welcomed the opportunity to prevent American settlement of the region. | 8-2 | 4. Foreign Powers in the West: Washington worried about European ambitions in the Northwest Territory. His goal was to removed that threat, “in peace if I can, and to be prepared for war if I cannot.” He hoped that signing treaties with Native Americans would lessen the influence of the British and Spanish. American settlers, however, ignored the treaties and continued to move onto lands promised too the Indians. Fighting broke out between the settlers and Native Americans. Washington sent a large military expedition under General Arthur St. Clair to restore order in the Northwest Territory. In November 1791, St. Clair’s forces were badly beaten by Little Turtle, chief of the Miami people. More than 600 American troops died in a battle by the Wabash River. Many Americans believed that an alliance with France would enable them to defeat the combined forces of the British, Spanish, and Native Americans in the West. The British, who still had forts in the region, wanted to hold on to the profitable fur trade. The possibility of French involvement in the region pushed the British to make a bold bid for control of the West. In 1794 the British governor of Canada urged Indians to destroy American settlements west of the Appalachians. The British also began building a new fort in Ohio. | 8-2 | 5. American Victories in the West: Washington sent John Jay to Britain to try to halt the nation’s slide toward war. He also instructed General Anthony Wayne to gain control over the Native Americans in the Ohio River valley. Wayne used his knowledge of Native American customs to gain an important advantage. Aware that Indians usually fasted before battle, he spread rumors that he planned to attack on August 17. Then he delayed his attack. Expecting the battle to begin at any moment, the Native Americans continued to fast. Finally on August 20, 1794, Wayne attacked and defeated Shawnee chief Blue Jacket and his warriors – weakened by hunger – at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. A year later Wayne forced 12 Indian nations in the Great Lakes region to sign the Treaty of Greenville. The treaty opened most of Ohio to white settlement. | 8-2 | 6. The French Revolution: In 1789 the French rebelled against their king, Louis XVI, and overthrew the government. At first most Americans cheered the news. The French had helped the Americans in their struggle for independence, and their revolution seemed to embody many of the ideals of the American Revolution. By 1793, however, the French Revolution had turned bloody. The leaders had executed the king and queen of France and thousands of French citizens. Public opinion in the United States stated to divide. The violence of the French Revolution, as well as its attack on religion and disregard of individual liberties, offended many Americans. In 1793 Britain and France went to war. Some Americans, particularly in the South, sympathized with France. Others, especially manufacturers and merchants who traded with the British, favored Britain. Hamilton, Adams, and their supporters generally sided with the British. Jefferson was pro-French. A French victory, Jefferson reasoned, would help drive the British out of North America. Washington hoped that the nation could maintain its neutrality – that is, that it would not take sides in the conflict between France and Britain. As time went on, however, neutrality became increasingly difficult. | 8-2 | 7. Washington Proclaims Neutrality: The French tried to involve the United States in their conflict with Britain. In April 1793, they sent diplomat Edmond Genet (zhuh•NAY) to the United States. His mission was to recruit American volunteers to attack British shipping. President Washington took action to discourage American involvement. On April 22 he issued a Proclamation of Neutrality. It prohibited American citizens from fighting in the war and barred French and British warships from American ports. Genet’s plans eventually failed, but he did manage to sign up a few hundred Americans to serve on French ships. These ships seized British vessels and stole their cargoes before Washington ended their adventures by closing American ports. Outraged by the French attacks at sea, the British began seizing American ships that traded with the French. The British also stopped American merchant ships and forced their crews into the British navy. This practice, known as impressment, infuriated the American government and people. British attacks on American ships and sailors, along with the challenge in the West, pushed the nation closer toward war with Great Britain. | 8-2 | 8. A Controversial Treaty: General Wayne’s victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers persuaded the British in November 1794 to accept many of the American demands presented by the negotiator, John Jay. In Jay’s Treaty the British agreed to pay damages for ships they had seized, and to allow some American ships to trade with British colonies in the Caribbean. The treaty also provided for settlement of debts from before 1776. Despite these gains few Americans approved of Jay’s Treaty. Most considered it dishonorable. They protested that the treaty did not deal with the issue of impressment and did not mention the British interference with American trade. Crowds marched in the streets and burned images of John Jay. When Hamilton tried to speak in support of the treaty, people threw stones at him. Although Washington found fault with the treaty, he realized it would end an explosive crisis with Great Britain. He sent the treaty to the Senate, which narrowly approved it after a fierce debate. | 8-2 | 9. Success with Spain: In 1795 the United States signed an agreement with Spain known as Pinckney’s Treaty. American victories west of the Appalachians had convinced the Spanish to make peace. The Spanish gave the Americans unrestricted access to the Mississippi River and promised to dismantle all forts on American territory. | 8-2 | 10. Washington’s Farewell: In the spring of 1796, Washington announced he would not seek a third term. By choosing to serve only two terms, Washington set a precedent that later presidents would follow. Plagued with a variety of ailments, the 64-year-old president looked forward to retirement at Mount Vernon. He also felt troubled over the divisions in American politics and with what he considered a grave danger to the new nation – the growth of political parties. Washington’s “Farewell Address” was published in a Philadelphia newspaper. In it he attacked the evils of political parties and entanglement in foreign affairs. He also urged his fellow citizens to “observe good faith and justice toward all nations” while avoiding “passionate attachment” and “permanent alliances” with any. Washington’s parting words had great influence on the nation’s foreign policy for more than 100 years. The text is still read aloud in the U.S. Senate each year on Washington’s birthday. | 8-2 |
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