Deck 7: The American People and the American Revolution 1775-1783

Question 1

The chapter introduction tells the story of the Battle of Bunker Hill to make the point that

A) Americans won their revolution by pitting dedicated amateur soldiers against the might of Britain's professional redcoats.
B) initially the war went badly for the Americans, testing their commitment to liberty and independence.
C) a key question in that battle and throughout the war was whether Americans would really fight to win their independence.
D) declaring independence was one thing, but after the Declaration, actually fighting against the authority of one's own king was quite another.

Answer 1

a key question in that battle and throughout the war was whether Americans would really fight to win their independence.

Question 2

A fundamental question at the outset of the Revolution was, "Will they fight?"Different individuals answered this in different ways. Which of the following does NOT accurately state one of the responses?

A) Northern Anglicans and recent emigrants from the British Isles tended to remain loyal to the British.
B) Most middle-class American revolutionaries preferred to join the Continental Army rather than merely become part of their local militias.
C) The war to protect liberty and property was, ironically, waged by those classes of Americans who were poor and least free.
D) In the latter part of the war, brutal civil war between loyalist and rebel bands raged across the South.

Answer 2

Most middle-class American revolutionaries preferred to join the Continental Army rather than merely become part of their local militias.

Question 3

During the first year of the Revolution, American war aims shifted from a desire for redress of grievances to a demand for complete independence. Which of the following influenced this shift?

A) the impact of Tom Paine's Common Sense
B) Washington's refusal to command the Continental Army until independence was declared
C) congressional actions on war aims and treaties with France
D) British actions to crush American resistance by using Indian tribes

Answer 3

the impact of Tom Paine's Common Sense

Question 4

All of the following actions, which seemed to be the actions of an independent government, were taken by the Continental Congress before the Declaration of Independence, EXCEPT

A) drafting the "Olive Branch Petition."
B) creating a Continental Army.
C) dealing with Canada.
D) issuing paper money to pay for troops.

Question 5

The first, briefer section of the Declaration of Independence dealt with _______, while the second included _______.

A) American grievances; reasons for now becoming independent of the English
B) the general right of revolution based on natural rights; the specific offenses of King George III by which England forfeited its right to rule Americans
C) the announcement of American independence; the reasons why such a declaration must be made at this time
D) the assertion that all men are created equal; the rights of life, liberty, and happiness as justifications for severing ties with England

Question 6

What was the most dominant common characteristic among the diverse group of people who remained loyal to Britain?

A) They were devout Christians who believed the Bible commanded obedience to authority.
B) They were old-stock wealthy planters and merchants from the coastal areas whose families had long prospered under British rule.
C) They owed their livelihood and social status to Crown appointments and thus were unmoved by constitutional arguments.
D) They were fearful of divisions and instability within American society.

Question 7

What event helped overcome republican fears of a standing Continental Army?

A) the battle of Bunker Hill
B) the passage of the Quartering Act by Parliament
C) the dwindling number of "citizen-soldier" volunteers
D) General Washington's reassurance of professionalism in the officer ranks

Question 8

At first, the bulk of the Continental Army was recruited from _______, but eventually most Continental soldiers were _______.

A) the New England states; from the middle states plus Virginia
B) the lower classes; solidly middle class
C) the militias; drawn from the poorest and least free
D) farmers conscripted by the provincial congresses and state legislatures; volunteers

Question 9

The initial fighting in the war occurred in New England; most engagements in the two years after the Declaration of Independence took place in _________; and the conflict in the later war years raged across _______.

A) the Chesapeake; the Hudson valley
B) the Chesapeake; the Carolinas and Georgia
C) the middle states (New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania); the Carolinas and Virginia
D) the port towns in the middle states (New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania); the backcountry

Question 10

What tactical goal did General Howe have in mind when he captured Philadelphia in the summer of 1777?

A) punishment for the city's overt support of the Continental Army
B) to enable his field officers to resupply their companies
C) to divide the Continental Army from the New England militias
D) to draw the Americans into battle

Question 11

Which of the following describes the American relationship with the French prior to 1778?

A) The French provided secret aid as a way to gain revenge against the British.
B) The French offered an overt alliance in hopes they could regain their lost North American possessions.
C) The Americans sought French aid with advisors only.
D) The Americans negotiated a treaty with France for Canada and islands in the Caribbean.

Question 12

"Saratoga changed everything,"says your text, referring to which of the following?

A) Britain's success meant they retained control of the seas after all.
B) Britain's defeat led to a treaty of alliance with France, opening a new phase of the war.
C) Britain's defeat meant they abandoned all hope of subduing the rebellion and opened negotiations for peace and American independence.
D) The military standoff forced General Howe to turn toward Philadelphia instead of linking up with General Burgoyne.

Question 13

Which of the following best explains why the French fought against Britain in the American Revolution?

A) They expected to be able to regain territory in North America.
B) They sympathized with the republican principles by which the Americans fought.
C) The successful British occupation of Philadelphia convinced them that the Americans were losing and needed help.
D) They feared that the Americans would reconcile with Britain, their historic enemy.

Question 14

Despite great triumphs on the battlefield and at the diplomatic bargaining table, the Continental Army suffered at Valley Forge because

A) Congress and the civilians responsible for providing for the army were disorganized and indifferent.
B) the military leadership, in order to instill true discipline, drilled the soldiers beyond their endurance.
C) the winter was unusually harsh and the army was compelled to camp outdoors.
D) the soldiers were never told of the victories elsewhere.

Question 15

Which statement about the regulars of the Continental Army is true?

A) Most of the soldiers were older, propertied farmers with families, whose substantial farms, left to the care of wives and children in their long absence, fell into disrepair.
B) Despite the hardships, Continental soldiers-who had enlisted for the sake of liberty-refused the temptations of desertion and mutiny that plagued the hired armies of Europe.
C) While local partisans in the South often ran at the first encounter with the enemy, the Continental Army proved its mettle in a series of victories in the Carolinas and Georgia.
D) In social composition and military tactics, the American army came to resemble the British army.

Question 16

Which of the following statements about British attempts to turn slave rebelliousness into a strategic advantage is the most accurate?

A) British leaders successfully turned former slaves into a black army of 10,000.
B) In attempts to gain loyalties, British leaders created a sanctuary for black loyalists on the southeastern coast.
C) The British helped organize the largest slave revolt in history.
D) British leaders did not think that organizing support among African Americans would be effective.

Question 17

What was the role of African Americans in the revolution?

A) As the war dragged on, blacks-especially northern free blacks-were increasingly welcome to enlist.
B) Americans generally avoided arming blacks, but the British eagerly recruited runaway slaves.
C) Though still enslaved, they rallied around the revolutionary rhetoric of freedom, uniformly supporting the American cause.
D) Very few slaves escaped to freedom; those who did found themselves welcomed in the North, the West Indies, or Canada.

Question 18

Which of the following is the best statement of why the British signed the peace treaty granting American independence?

A) The Americans had driven the British army out of North America.
B) The French had driven the British navy from the high seas.
C) The timing of the occasional American victories led to a global situation in which the British needed to salvage the rest of their empire by cutting their American losses.
D) They had sent a commission offering peace on prewar terms, which the Congress accepted in all particulars except refusing to remain in the empire.

Question 19

Why were the French initially reluctant to support the American cause?

A) The British were important allies to the French.
B) Louis XVI did not like Benjamin Franklin, who was persistent in pursuing French support.
C) The French did not think the American cause was important enough to risk financial and military aid.
D) They were not sure the rebels in America stood a fighting chance.

Question 20

Who benefitted the most from the Battle of Saratoga, the patriots or the British?

A) the British, because it proved the patriots could not win a decisive battle
B) the British, because it allowed General Burgoyne to recapture Fort Ticonderoga
C) the Patriots, because it convinced the French to join the American cause
D) neither side, because it ended in a stalemate

Question 21

Describe British and American military strategies as they evolved over the course of the War for Independence.

Question 22

Among what sorts of people and in which areas was loyalism strongest?

Question 23

In what different ways did the Declaration of Independence justify the colonies' break with Great Britain?

Question 24

Discuss the role of the white civilian population-both men and women-in the War for Independence.

Question 25

Describe how the war affected the lives of black slaves living in the American South.

Question 26

Describe the effect of the Battle of Bunker Hill on the course of the War for Independence.

Question 27

Discuss the role of the French in the War for Independence. Why were they reluctant at first to intervene? In what key ways did they contribute to the American victory?

Question 28

How did Nathanael Greene provide effective leadership of the American army in the South?

Question 29

Why did the British adopt a "southern strategy"after 1778? What could the British have done differently in order to win the war in the South?

Question 30

Assess the relative importance of the militia and the Continental Army in securing rebel victories in the War for Independence.

Question 31

What was the single most important reason that the British lost the War for Independence?

Question 32

From Washington's point of view, what were the chief obstacles to be overcome in fighting the war? How did he address those problems?

Question 33

Henry Laurens, a South Carolina merchant, reported that after the war's outbreak, local slaves took up the cry of Liberty-he put it-"in thoughtless imitation."Do you agree? What options were available to African Americans during the Revolution? How did different people exercise those options? Be as specific as possible.

Question 34

Discuss the global issues that were involved in the American War for Independence.

Question 35

Explain the chronology of the American Revolution. Be sure to mention at least three battles and three significant people. Be specific.