Deck 4: Rising Expectations: African Americans and the Struggle for Independence

Question 1

How did Enlightenment thought affect African Americans in the 1760s and 1770s?

A) African Americans were unaffected by Enlightenment thought, since they were not allowed to read and write.
B) They began several coordinated, widespread violent rebellions in both the North and the South.
C) They filed lawsuits in the North, escaped from the South, and protested in large numbers.
D) Generally, large numbers of free blacks left for Africa in the late 1700s.

Answer 1

They filed lawsuits in the North, escaped from the South, and protested in large numbers.

Question 2

Why did most African American intellectual leaders owe more to the Great Awakening than to secular learning during the Enlightenment?

A) Many had no interest in poetry and literature, but religion held deep meaning.
B) The Great Awakening was a period of enormous democratization of American society.
C) Religious learning had been more available to them than secular educations.
D) The Great Awakening was a period where secular learning was promoted for everyone.

Answer 2

Religious learning had been more available to them than secular educations.

Question 3

Which scholar/philosopher was an influence on Enlightenment thought in Europe?

A) John Locke
B) Andrew Jackson
C) Leo Tolstoy
D) Socrates

Answer 3

John Locke

Question 4

What not a consequence of the French and Indian War on the white American colonists?

A) Since the Indians could no longer play one European nation off against another, Native Americans began to lose their land more quickly. The American colonists did not have to deal with as many Indian conflicts.
B) England began to assert more control over the colonies, to help pay for the expensive war effort and the administration of more territory.
C) The colonists no longer had to deal with outside threats from Spain or France to a great extent.
D) The French proved to have a government which was more willing to work with the colonists' demands for independence.

Question 5

Why did blacks choose to support the British over the American colonists during the Revolution?

A) Blacks actually supported the American colonists in all cases.
B) Blacks were paid by the British to participate in some of the numerous violent slave uprisings across the south during the Revolution.
C) Blacks resented that the Americans would not let them enlist and were upholding slavery.
D) Many slaves were very frightened by the British army, and were unable to refuse service.

Question 6

Which of these is not an Enlightenment idea argued by Newton and Locke?

A) The universe is an orderly place that can be explained by humans in a rational way.
B) Government was created to protect life, liberty and property, the natural rights of man.
C) If government failed to protect natural rights, humans had the right to overthrow it.
D) All people, no matter what their race, should be given the same rights.

Question 7

What do the Proclamation Line of 1763, the Stamp Act of 1765, and the Townshend Acts of 1767 have in common?

A) They were all very high, unreasonable taxes imposed by England on unsuspecting colonists.
B) They all had to do with the continued process of slavery, either limiting where it could occur, or taxing various products made by escaped slaves.
C) They were efforts by the British to establish more control over the colonies, and bring in money, after the French and Indian War.
D) They were taxes imposed reluctantly by the American government after independence to raise needed money.

Question 8

What was the major cause of the French and Indian War?

A) The Native American tribes of Canada had been attacking various French forts, trying to stop them from expanding into the area.
B) The French and British both wanted to control the fur trade in the Ohio Valley area.
C) The British wanted to control Canada, and had attacked several French cities.
D) The Spanish hoped to gain territory north of Florida, and had been harassing the British colony of Georgia.

Question 9

For what is Benjamin Banneker well known?

A) He was renowned for his knowledge of chemistry.
B) He was the first black civilian employee of the American government.
C) He was a well-known minister in the Boston area.
D) He was a military leader who led black troops into battle during the American Revolution.

Question 10

Men like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, in writing the Declaration of Independence,

A) meant for the phrase "all men are created equal" to include blacks as well as whites.
B) thought that possibly slaves could be freed and Americans would resolve their differences peacefully at same time in the future.
C) took for granted, frequently noted and accepted differences between the rights of white men and the rights of blacks.
D) never even thought about the issue of slavery or blacks, since it was such a part of American culture.

Question 11

Which statement best describes African Americans' actions during the American Revolution?

A) They fought with the American colonists, since they were fighting for freedom and democracy.
B) They played no role in the revolution, since they were forbidden from enlisting in the army.
C) They fought for the side that offered them their best chance at freedom.
D) They consistently chose to escape to the west, where they were adopted into Indian tribes.

Question 12

How did Banneker attempt to change Jefferson's ideas about black people?

A) He sent Jefferson a copy of his almanac, and debated racial theories with him.
B) He became Jefferson's personal secretary, and forced Jefferson to challenge his racist views.
C) Banneker was so disillusioned with Jefferson that he refused to have anything to do with him.
D) He attempted to debate the president, but was unsuccessful, and afterwards helped several of Jefferson's slaves escape.

Question 13

How did the colonists, armed with Enlightenment thought, interpret the actions and policies of the British government in the 1760s and the 1770s?

A) They were furious because the taxes were high and would take away their hard-earned wealth.
B) They thought the British government was engaged in a great conspiracy to take away their natural rights and make them slaves.
C) The colonists really had very little reaction to the British government's actions at this time. They were able to get around the policies very easily.
D) The colonists pushed for additional regulations, because they realized they could not protect themselves against encroaching Indians.

Question 14

Who was Crispus Attucks?

A) one of the people who died after accosting British soldiers at the Boston Massacre
B) a famous slave who fought against the British in the battles of Lexington and Concord
C) a black man who was famous for his poetry during the American Revolution
D) a British loyalist, who fought alongside Benedict Arnold in several battles

Question 15

Who were the major combatants during the French and Indian War?

A) the French versus the Indians
B) Great Britain versus England
C) France and their Indian allies versus the Dutch
D) the French and their Indian allies versus the British, their Indian allies, and the colonists

Question 16

Why did the American colonists see the Tea Act as a problem?

A) The tea taxes were incredibly high, and the price of tea would skyrocket.
B) They thought that payment of the tea tax would establish a precedent for American colonists having to pay other taxes.
C) The colonists really had more of a problem with the Sugar Act than the Tea Act, which was considered relatively minor.
D) The Tea Act forced them to buy tea from the Spanish, the American's mortal enemy at that time.

Question 17

How did Phillis Wheatley distinguish herself?

A) as the first black woman to graduate from a British college
B) as the first woman to die at the Battle of Lexington
C) as a poet
D) as the first black abolitionist in the colonies

Question 18

Why did most whites not want blacks to enlist in the army?

A) They thought that blacks were too cowardly to fight.
B) They thought that arming blacks would inspire rebellion of slaves across the south.
C) They lacked the equipment and uniforms to accept everyone.
D) They believed both that blacks were too cowardly, and that it would inspire rebellion.

Question 19

How did Wheatley demonstrate that she approved of the adoption of white culture by blacks?

A) Wheatley sought to write poetry exactly like the popular white style.
B) Wheatley refused to marry a black man.
C) Wheatley supported the British cause above the Americans' revolutionary ideas.
D) Actually, Wheatley absorbed white values, but also held views that were contradictory to those of her white masters and demonstrated pride in her race's abilities.

Question 20

In what way does the final version of the Declaration of Independence specifically mention slavery?

A) It denounces the slave trade and calls for an end to it.
B) It does not mention it at all.
C) It calls for an immediate end to all inequality between all men and women, including blacks.
D) It lists attempts to get slaves to revolt as one of the wrongs perpetrated by the British.

Question 21

What factor led to the abolition of slavery in the North?

A) The North's economy was not as dependent on slavery as was the South's.
B) The South was more likely to believe that God accepted slavery - religion was not as important in the North.
C) The North had never had slavery, except in some areas of New York, so it wasn't widespread.
D) Everyone in the North accepted the ideas of freedom for all from the beginning of their colonies

Question 22

How did black women assist in the Patriot cause?

A) Black women joined their husbands in army camps, and defied the British in numerous ways.
B) Black women frequently went into battle with the men.
C) Black women wrote many pamphlets, spoke in public for the Patriot cause, and raised large amounts of money for black soldiers.
D) Because they were seen as physically and mentally weaker, women had no role in the war effort.

Question 23

Which of the following is not true about life for black soldiers during the Revolution?

A) They risked their lives as spies behind enemy lines.
B) Black men fought at nearly every major battle throughout the war.
C) They fought in segregated units.
D) A black did have the opportunity, although rare, to become an officer.

Question 24

Which of the following people was a Quaker anti-slavery organizer?

A) Thomas Jefferson
B) Benjamin Lay
C) Crispus Attucks
D) James Reid

Question 25

Why did many Quakers take the lead in abolitionism?

A) Quakers had strong African roots.
B) Quaker ideology had long stressed principles of brotherhood of man and nonviolence.
C) Quaker church members served with blacks in the army during the American Revolution, and had seen first hand their bravery and commitment to liberty.
D) Quakers had never owned slaves, and therefore had no economic interest.

Question 26

Why did Washington reconsider his initial ban on black slaves serving in the army?

A) Washington hoped to kill off many black people by using them in the army as front line troops.
B) Washington generally hoped for equality between the races, and thought that military service would be a way for blacks to prove themselves.
C) Washington never reconsidered his initial ban.
D) Lord Dunmore's proclamation seemed to give him greater strength and power.

Question 27

Where did the Patriot recruitment policy change most quickly?

A) New England
B) border states like Maryland and Virginia
C) areas like South Carolina, which desperately needed manpower
D) throughout the South

Question 28

African Americans made many gains through the American Revolution. What was one limitation that they encountered?

A) They were not allowed to move into cities, and were forced to remain agricultural workers.
B) The free black population outside the North failed to increase in any significant way.
C) They faced many economic difficulties, made worse by whites who limited training and entry into certain fields and trades.
D) They were able to serve in the military in various capacities.

Question 29

Black Loyalists were most common and numerous in the colonies of ______________ and ______________ during the Revolution.

Question 30

What is not true about blacks and the Patriot cause during the Revolution?

A) George Washington forbid them from enlisting during the entire course of the war.
B) All thirteen states initially forbid blacks from serving in their armies.
C) Blacks served on the Patriot side in many important battles and assisted in the cause.
D) Blacks often pressed for freedom as their price for fighting for the Patriot cause.

Question 31

What is true about Lord Dunmore's proclamation in November 1775?

A) Since no slave could read, it had little effect on black participation.
B) Dunmore promised to free slaves who joined the British army.
C) The proclamation had little effect of any kind on the Americans, who kept very tight control over their slaves.
D) Dunmore promised that the slaves would be used according to their intellect and leadership abilities.

Question 32

Which of the following was not a direct or indirect result of the American Revolution?

A) Large numbers of blacks fled the country with British Loyalists after the war.
B) The decline of tobacco led to some improvements in the labor situation for slaves in the South.
C) Slavery was abolished in all the northern colonies (except New Jersey and New York) by 1784.
D) Freeing slaves became easier in several of the border states.