Deck 5: The American Revolution, 1763-1783

Question 1

The Boston Massacre occurred when British soldiers:

A) killed Indians who were raiding frontier towns.
B) fired into a mob and killed a number of Boston residents.
C) captured members of the Sons of Liberty involved in the Boston Tea Party.
D) fired on local minutemen guarding an arsenal.
E) tried to defend Thomas Hutchinson from an angry mob.

Answer 1

fired into a mob and killed a number of Boston residents.

Question 2

Which armed group, motivated by deep frustrations with the corruption of North Carolina's county officials, was defeated by the colony's militia at the 1771 Battle of Alamance?

A) the Sons of Liberty
B) the Regulators
C) the Blue Ridge Boys
D) the Association
E) the Rangers

Answer 2

the Regulators

Question 3

The Declaratory Act:

A) imposed a boycott on all manufactured goods produced in the colonies.
B) declared that colonists had to house British soldiers in their homes.
C) closed the Port of Boston on account of the Boston Tea Party.
D) rejected American claims that only their elected representatives could levy taxes.
E) proclaimed the colonies' independence from Great Britain.

Answer 3

rejected American claims that only their elected representatives could levy taxes.

Question 4

What contribution did the Stamp Act episode make to the colonists' concept of liberty?

A) The elite became more aware of liberty, but the lower classes remained unconcerned, choosing instead just to follow leaders who encouraged them to riot.
B) The Stamp Act Congress insisted that the right to consent to taxation was essential to people's freedom.
C) It led the Stamp Act Congress to adopt the Declaratory Act, which defined American liberties.
D) It convinced colonists that revolting against Great Britain was the only way to secure their liberties.
E) Requiring everyone freed from jail to wear a stamp reminded colonists that they were prisoners of the British empire.

Question 5

Crispus Attucks:

A) defended in court the British soldiers who participated in the Boston Massacre.
B) organized the boycott of British imports following the Townshend Act.
C) was the first person of mixed race to serve in the Continental Congress.
D) has been called the first martyr of the American Revolution.
E) died bravely at the Battle of Concord.

Question 6

Violent social turmoil in rural areas during the 1760s:

A) was due entirely to Great Britain's Proclamation of 1763, banning western settlement.
B) ended when the British army drove out Native Americans beyond the line of settlement.
C) flourished because the British army had no interest in going beyond coastal cities.
D) led to the creation of the Sons of Liberty.
E) involved events in both northern and southern colonies.

Question 7

The Sons of Liberty:

A) enjoyed support from New York craftsmen and laborers.
B) won widespread support from New York's upper classes.
C) opposed any violent response to the Stamp Act.
D) prompted founder Samuel Adams and his cousin John Adams to break off relations.
E) caused the Boston Massacre in 1765.

Question 8

Britain responded to the Boston Tea Party with:

A) the Townshend Act.
B) the Intolerable Acts.
C) a declaration of war.
D) the Suffolk Resolves.
E) the Boston Massacre.

Question 9

Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys:

A) started the colony of New Hampshire.
B) forced the British army to retreat at Concord.
C) were spies working for the Sons of Liberty.
D) put down the revolt of the Regulators in North Carolina.
E) fought intrusions by New York landlords into what became Vermont.

Question 10

The Sugar Act alarmed colonists, in part because it:

A) increased the tax on molasses and made rum more expensive to produce.
B) made sugar, a key consumer good, too expensive.
C) mandated that violators of the act be tried in a court with a jury.
D) eliminated the admiralty courts, which colonists had long favored.
E) threatened the profits of colonial merchants already in economic trouble.

Question 11

The expulsion of the journalist John Wilkes from his seat in Parliament:

A) symbolized the threat to liberty for many in both Britain and America.
B) pleased most American colonists because of Wilkes's pro-Stamp-Act editorials.
C) resulted from a column Wilkes wrote that was sympathetic toward those killed in the Boston Massacre.
D) came after a London jury convicted him of colluding with pro-independence colonists.
E) was reversed by the king, which led to a British constitutional crisis that diverted attention from the colonies.

Question 12

Virtual representation was the idea:

A) that only those who were elected by a given population could represent that population in a legislative body.
B) about representation that most politically active American colonists in the 1760s and 1770s embraced.
C) endorsed by the Stamp Act Congress in 1765.
D) that each member of Britain's House of Commons represented the entire empire, not just his own district.
E) that the king should appoint delegates to represent the colonies in the British House of Commons.

Question 13

Which one of the following did NOT specifically provide for direct or indirect taxes on the colonies?

A) the Sugar Act
B) the Tea Act
C) the Townshend Act
D) the Stamp Act
E) the Declaratory Act

Question 14

The attack by Massachusetts colonists on the home of lieutenant governor and chief justice Thomas Hutchinson:

A) convinced him that the Stamp Act, which he had previously supported, was unwise.
B) physically assaulted Hutchinson's family, an act that prompted Great Britain to clamp down on colonial liberties.
C) led Hutchinson to believe that effective British rule would require the loss of some liberties for the colonists.
D) led Parliament to repeal the Townshend Acts immediately.
E) included Samuel and John Adams.

Question 15

The Stamp Act created such a stir in the colonies because:

A) it raised prices on printed products so much that most colonists no longer could afford to buy books and newspapers.
B) lawyers were offended that they could be jailed for not using the correct stamp on legal documents.
C) it was the first direct tax Parliament imposed on the colonies.
D) none of the revenue raised would be spent within the colonies themselves.
E) Benjamin Franklin went public with his opposition to it.

Question 16

Why did colonists object to the Tea Act?

A) Because it would aid a different part of the empire than their own, colonists felt that this was the kind of discriminatory action that violated the concept of liberty.
B) By paying it, they would be acknowledging Great Britain's right to tax the colonists.
C) It granted a monopoly, and the colonists opposed all forms of monopoly.
D) The British East India Company made inferior tea, and colonists preferred not to drink it.
E) It raised the tax on tea so much as to make tea prohibitively expensive.

Question 17

The "Daughters of Liberty" was the name given to:

A) the female children of the Founding Fathers, especially the daughters of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson.
B) New England women who won voting rights in the 1770s.
C) the brave women who cared for wounded soldiers during the early battles of the Revolution.
D) women who spun and wove to create their own clothing rather than buy British goods.
E) the first national women's patriotic organization, which raised money to provide supplies for the Continental army after Saratoga.

Question 18

All of the following were attempts to regulate colonial trade before the Seven Years' War EXCEPT for the:

A) Molasses Act.
B) Proclamation Line.
C) Hat Act.
D) Iron Act.
E) Wool Act.

Question 19

Which major event first led the British government to seek ways to make the colonies bear part of the cost of the empire?

A) the Declaration of Independence
B) King Philip's War
C) the Seven Years' War
D) the Boston Tea Party
E) the appointment of William Pitt as British prime minister

Question 20

The Townshend Acts did all of the following EXCEPT:

A) impose new import duties on glass and tea.
B) encourage some colonies to boycott British goods.
C) reaffirm Boston's decision to abide by the Quartering Act.
D) create a Board of Customs Commissioners to catch smugglers.
E) raise revenue to pay the salaries of American governors and judges.

Question 21

John Adams recommended George Washington as commander of the Continental army because:

A) he knew that Washington was weighing an offer from Britain to lead its North American forces.
B) he shared Washington's view of the importance of natural rights.
C) the fact that Washington was from Virginia could help unify the colonists.
D) he knew Washington had opposed General Howe's forces cutting down the Liberty Tree.
E) they had an agreement that Adams would then be put in charge of administering the army in the New England colonies.

Question 22

In the years immediately before the American Revolution, the concept of natural rights:

A) greatly influenced Thomas Jefferson's early writings.
B) prompted Thomas Jefferson to support independence before the war even began.
C) caused many American colonists to call for the abolition of the monarchy.
D) contradicted the argument for colonial resistance.
E) led to Parliament's passage of the Declaratory Act of 1766.

Question 23

All of the following were advantages enjoyed by the British during the American Revolution EXCEPT:

A) the world's best navy.
B) a professionally trained army.
C) the ability to recruit German soldiers to fight for the British.
D) an intimate knowledge of the terrain.
E) the ability to lure slaves to fight for the British in exchange for their freedom.

Question 24

All of the following are true of the Declaration of Independence EXCEPT:

A) ultimately, it is an assertion of the right of revolution.
B) its arguments made it a uniquely American document with little relevance to other nations.
C) it celebrated individual self-fulfillment as a central element of American freedom.
D) it completed the shift of Americans' focus from their rights as Englishmen to their rights as human beings.
E) it deemphasized tradition as a force in shaping American society.

Question 25

What were the Suffolk Resolves?

A) the peace treaty that ended the Regulator movement in North Carolina
B) a list of demands addressed to landlords, made in 1772 by New York tenant farmers
C) a group of anti-Tea Act petitions from Boston merchants to the Massachusetts royal governor
D) the resolutions pledging the Continental Congress's loyalty to King George III in 1775
E) a set of resolutions made in 1774, urging Massachusetts citizens to prepare for war

Question 26

Which statement about Thomas Paine's Common Sense is FALSE?

A) It was published in 1776.
B) It called for a democratic system based on frequent elections and a written constitution.
C) It tied the economic hopes of the new nation to the idea of commercial freedom.
D) It dramatically expanded the public sphere.
E) It was breathtakingly original in its ideas.

Question 27

What did Lord Dunmore do that horrified many southerners?

A) He encouraged Indians to conduct raids against backcountry settlements in the Carolinas.
B) He issued a proclamation freeing all slaves south of the Ohio River.
C) He promised freedom to slaves who joined the British cause.
D) He confiscated property of Loyalists.
E) He circulated germ-ridden blankets among frontier towns to spread disease.

Question 28

Which of the following statements regarding black soldiers during the American Revolution is FALSE?

A) No southern state allowed blacks to serve in its militia.
B) A total of approximately 5,000 African Americans served in state militias and in the Continental army and navy.
C) Rhode Island, which had a relatively high black population for New England, formed a black regiment.
D) George Washington initially refused to allow black recruits, but later changed his mind.
E) Blacks and whites served together in racially integrated Continental army units.

Question 29

Which of the following was associated with the Intolerable Acts?

A) For the first time British authorities stationed soldiers in Boston.
B) Parliament closed all American ports to all trade until the tea destroyed by the Boston Tea Party was paid for.
C) The Massachusetts Charter of 1691 was changed to curtail town meetings.
D) The office of governor of Massachusetts became an elected position.
E) Colonists were prevented from producing items made from glass, paper, or lead.

Question 30

The Olive Branch Petition:

A) was meant to ease tensions among the organized political parties within the Continental Congress.
B) enabled northern and southern colonies to work together.
C) convinced Thomas Paine that he had enough support to write Common Sense.
D) was Parliament's final attempt to explain virtual representation to the colonists.
E) was addressed to King George III and reaffirmed American loyalty to the crown.

Question 31

The Committees of Safety:

A) served to warn colonists if the Royal Navy was approaching.
B) were part of a series of efforts by the Continental Congress to promote unity and to take action against enemies of liberty.
C) killed twenty-eight Loyalists before the Revolutionary War began.
D) took action against Catholics trying to spread Quebec's influence.
E) were designed to protect British officials like Thomas Hutchinson, but attracted too small a number of members to succeed.

Question 32

By the time of Thomas Jefferson's death in 1826 about __________ other declarations of independence had been issued in Europe and the Western Hemisphere.

A) 5
B) 10
C) 15
D) 20
E) 25

Question 33

Thomas Paine's Common Sense:

A) argued that the British governmental system was perfectly good, but that current officials had corrupted it.
B) made highly original arguments in favor of independence.
C) sold well among the elite, who in turn were able to convey its ideas to the lower classes.
D) argued that America would become the home of freedom and "an asylum for mankind."
E) led to his arrest on charges of treason, but he saved himself by writing another pamphlet taking the opposite position.

Question 34

Who argued that "true liberty" could only be achieved by remaining in the British Empire?

A) Ben Franklin
B) Sam Adams
C) Ethan Allen
D) George Washington
E) Joseph Galloway

Question 35

In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson's biggest influence with regard to natural rights came from?

A) John Adams
B) Thomas Paine
C) Joseph Galloway
D) John Locke
E) Lord Dunmore

Question 36

The Quebec Act:

A) granted religious toleration to Catholics in Canada.
B) placed a tax on all imported goods from Canada.
C) removed the Ohio River Valley from the province of Quebec.
D) called for Canada to join America in the struggle for independence.
E) created Quebec out of the preexisting provinces of Ontario and New Brunswick.

Question 37

Which of the following was NOT a significant battle during the first year of the Revolutionary War?

A) Lexington and Concord, which included "the shot heard 'round the world' "
B) Fort Ticonderoga, where soldiers commanded by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold forced a British surrender
C) Breed's Hill, where the British suffered heavy casualties trying to dislodge colonial militiamen
D) the Siege of Boston, which culminated in Sir William Howe's troops abandoning the city
E) Cowpens, which helped turn the tide of war in the South

Question 38

Most of the text of the Declaration of Independence:

A) was originally drafted by Benjamin Franklin and then brilliantly edited by Thomas Jefferson.
B) consists of a list of grievances against King George III.
C) is an updated version of John Locke's classic, The Rights of Man.
D) specifically attacks the idea that Parliament has a right to enact any laws for the colonies.
E) is an irrefutable argument for the notion of virtual representation.

Question 39

Which of the following is true of the soldiers who fought for American independence?

A) During the war's later years, the Continental army relied increasingly on young men with limited economic prospects.
B) Relatively few-only one in sixty-lost their lives in the war.
C) Nearly one-third of all American soldiers were slaves fighting as substitutes for their masters.
D) Because they had the most to gain, men of substantial property served in disproportionately high numbers throughout the war.
E) Lacking any military experience and unsure of their cause, the soldiers performed so poorly that it took the addition of 25,000 French ground troops to prevent a British victory.

Question 40

During the eight years of war, approximately how many Americans bore arms in the Continental army and state militias?

A) 80,000
B) 125,000
C) 200,000
D) 350,000
E) 500,000

Question 41

American colonists widely believed that Britain had no authority to tax the colonists since the colonists had no elected representative in Parliament.

Question 42

In the winter of 1776-1777, Washington won important victories that improved American morale. These battles were at:

A) Saratoga and Albany, New York.
B) Morristown and East Orange, New Jersey.
C) Long Island and White Plains, New York.
D) Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.
E) Trenton and Princeton, New Jersey.

Question 43

In 1778, the focus of the war shifted:

A) from minor skirmishes of fewer than 100 men to major battles, each involving thousands of soldiers.
B) from fighting in the southern states to fighting in New York and New England.
C) to an emphasis on the Continental army's trying to capture British strongholds in the Ohio Valley.
D) to the South, where the British captured Savannah that year.
E) to emancipation, when General Washington declared all slaves who fought for American independence should be free.

Question 44

During the Revolutionary War, tensions between backcountry farmers and wealthy planters:

A) enabled the British to turn around their previously unsuccessful performance during the war.
B) prompted several mutinies within colonial ranks.
C) gave the British hope that they might be able to enlist the support of southern Loyalists.
D) led Benedict Arnold to defect to the British.
E) caused Francis Marion's eventual defeat at the Battle of Cowpens.

Question 45

British possessions in the West Indies:

A) were handed over to the new United States in the Treaty of Paris.
B) issued their own declarations of independence in the late 1770s.
C) remained loyal to the crown during the American Revolution because their leaders feared slave uprisings.
D) all fell into the hands of the French, either through conquest or treaty, as a result of the American Revolution.
E) were divided during the American Revolution: some islands sent regiments to the Continental army, while others proudly fought for the king.

Question 46

Ethan Allen led the Hudson Bay Boys in New York to protect the liberties of small farmers.

Question 47

American leaders viewed the British empire as an association of equals.

Question 48

Although a few were outraged by the Stamp Act, most politically active colonists actually supported it.

Question 49

The Sons of Liberty enforced a boycott of British goods.

Question 50

Cornwallis was defeated at Yorktown because:

A) he had no land or water escape route.
B) he was overwhelmed by Washington's much larger and better trained army.
C) General Clinton had withdrawn from Yorktown, leaving Cornwallis vulnerable.
D) most of his troops were cold, starving, and ready to surrender.
E) King George III ordered an end to the war.

Question 51

John Wilkes was expelled from his seat in Parliament for his scandalous writings about the king; this caused many colonists to rally to his side with the call "Wilkes and Liberty."

Question 52

The main point of The American Crisis is:

A) that the Continental Congress should agree to peaceful reunification with Britain.
B) to inspire American soldiers to continue to fight despite demoralizing military losses.
C) that independence was too costly a goal for the colonies.
D) to encourage European powers to provide military assistance to the cause of American independence.
E) a prediction that the war would end unhappily for supporters of independence.

Question 53

The Treaty of Paris did NOT:

A) recognize American independence.
B) sever the alliance between the United States and France.
C) give the United States territory between Canada and Florida east of the Mississippi River.
D) give Americans the right to fish in Atlantic waters off of Canada.
E) require the restoration of Loyalist property seized by local and state governments.

Question 54

The negotiation of the Treaty of Paris of 1783:

A) ignored those who had been loyal to the British empire.
B) was a masterful bit of diplomacy by Thomas Jefferson.
C) gave the new American nation control of Florida.
D) led to the British government receiving compensation for anything the Continental Congress had taken from British citizens.
E) began only after the Battle of Yorktown.

Question 55

Samuel Adams defended the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre in a court of law.

Question 56

Washington's defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown:

A) allowed Washington to march his men unmolested through the Lower South where he achieved ultimate victory at Camden.
B) would have been impossible without Benedict Arnold's poor generalship on behalf of the British.
C) angered the French, whose fleet had yet to arrive and who wanted credit for the victory.
D) destroyed British public support for the war.
E) made up for Washington's failure to support General Nathanael Greene at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.

Question 57

Paul Revere created an engraving that distorted the Boston Massacre.

Question 58

A key consequence of the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777 was:

A) France became an ally to the United States.
B) the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress.
C) the immediate surrender of all British troops to the Continental army.
D) British commanders taking the war into the heart of New England for the first time.
E) General Washington's decision to retreat to Valley Forge for the winter.

Question 59

Homespun clothing became a symbol of American resistance during the American boycott on British goods.

Question 60

Prior to the Seven Years' War, Britain had not tried to regulate the colonies' economy.

Question 61

Americans did not gain much more than independence from the Treaty of Paris.

Question 62

The First Continental Congress raised an army and appointed George Washington as its commander.

Question 63

The idea of American exceptionalism was prevalent in the Revolution.

Question 64

Benedict Arnold almost succeeded in turning over to the British the important Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain.

Question 65

British soldiers alienated many Americans, while citizen-soldiers displayed great valor.

Question 66

The American victory at Trenton convinced the French to join the American cause.

Question 67

Thomas Paine's Common Sense was written specifically for the educated elite.

Question 68

To resist the Intolerable Acts, a Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia.

Question 69

British commanders were never able to consolidate their hold on the South.

Question 70

Today, more than half of the countries in the world have some sort of declaration of independence.

Question 71

Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense as a response to Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence.

Question 72

The French played a significant role in the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.

Question 73

Siding with the British offered slaves far more opportunities for liberty than did siding with the pro-independence Americans.

Question 74

Blacks who fought under George Washington did so in segregated units.

Question 75

The Treaty of Paris was negotiated within six months after Cornwallis's surrender.

Question 76

Washington's army was demoralized by repeated failures early in the war, and many soldiers simply went home.