Deck 7: The American Revolution

Question 1

One of the first important political effects of the American Revolution was __________.

A) ensuring Tories a legitimate political voice
B) the emergence of radical democratic ideology
C) a decline in the participation of ordinary people in the political process
D) universal commitment to abolition of slavery

Answer 1

the emergence of radical democratic ideology

Question 2

Washington's response to the Continental Army officers' meeting at Newburgh __________.

A) established the principle of separation of church and state
B) set a precedent for the subordination of the military to civil authority
C) revealed his hostility toward the British
D) encouraged Continental officers to offer him dictatorial powers

Answer 2

set a precedent for the subordination of the military to civil authority

Question 3

The biggest British defeat before Yorktown occurred at __________.

A) Trenton
B) Saratoga
C) Fort Ticonderoga
D) Brandywine Creek

Answer 3

Saratoga

Question 4

The Congress under the Articles of Confederation lacked the authority to __________.

A) conduct war and foreign affairs
B) establish a monetary system
C) tax citizens directly
D) maintain the armed forces

Question 5

The battles of Trenton and Princeton in late 1776 and early 1777 __________.

A) pushed the British south into Delaware
B) enabled the Americans to control New York
C) turned the tide in favor of the Americans
D) gave the Americans small victories that helped morale

Question 6

Thomas Jefferson's "Government for the Western Territory" was an attempt to create a __________.

A) republican policy for western expansion
B) haven for freed slaves
C) haven for Indians who had been American allies
D) series of forts and defenses against the British and Spanish

Question 7

Had Jefferson's original "Government for the Western Territory" plan been followed, __________.

A) land would have been given away to settlers
B) Virginia would have controlled a vast colony in the west
C) slavery would have been made legal in the west
D) Indians would have been made citizens and retained their lands

Question 8

When the Revolutionary War moved to the South, the British shifted to a strategy of __________.

A) turning the military conflict over to German mercenaries
B) taking territory and turning it over to Loyalists
C) guerrilla warfare
D) relying on a naval blockade to cut off supplies

Question 9

Which of these would have been most likely to be a Loyalist during the American Revolution?

A) a lawyer from Massachusetts
B) a merchant from Virginia
C) a Scot tenant farmer from the Carolinas
D) a Baptist minister from Virginia

Question 10

Which of these best describes the Continental Army encamped at Valley Forge?

A) Many were drawn from the ranks of the poor and disadvantaged.
B) No women were present with the army.
C) Most did not understand or believe in their cause.
D) Most of its soldiers were well-trained professionals.

Question 11

The French committed themselves to recognize American independence __________.

A) after the American defeats around New York City
B) after the American victory at Saratoga
C) after Britain attacked a French ship in Boston harbor
D) out of sympathy for American revolutionary ideals

Question 12

As a result of the American offensives in the west during 1777-1779, __________.

A) the British and their Indian allies decisively defeated the Americans
B) the Americans took control of all the British forts
C) most Indians responded to the American call to fight the British
D) American-Indian hostilities continued unabated for decades after the war

Question 13

Perhaps the most important American civilian official during the Revolution was Robert Morris, who served as __________.

A) secretary of finance
B) president of Congress
C) secretary of foreign affairs
D) ambassador to France

Question 14

The type of state governments established in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina after the Revolution indicated the __________.

A) power of the conservatives throughout the states
B) amount of control the radical element had seized
C) triumph of conservative ideas
D) balance of political power between conservative Whigs and radical democrats

Question 15

The first new state to join the Union was __________, which was an independent republic from 1777 to 1791.

A) Vermont
B) Tennessee
C) Ohio
D) Kentucky

Question 16

Most Indian peoples during the American Revolution __________.

A) united to support the American cause
B) refused to take sides
C) were unaffected by the Revolution
D) chose to support the British

Question 17

Loyalists who fled the United States during and after the American Revolution __________.

A) sold their property to Congress at the war's conclusion
B) took their slaves with them to Canada
C) encountered little hostility from American revolutionaries
D) were generally reluctant and unhappy exiles

Question 18

American migration westward following the Revolution was complicated by __________.

A) Spain's refusal to accept the terms of the Treaty of Paris
B) the return of the Ohio Valley to French control
C) Britain's refusal to allow American use of the port of New Orleans
D) the inability of Congress to enact western land policies

Question 19

The local militias that fought in the Revolutionary War __________.

A) provided the military expertise that ultimately defeated the British
B) were well-trained fighting forces
C) exhibited surprising military discipline
D) suffered appalling rates of desertion

Question 20

During the Revolutionary period, most Americans __________.

A) looked to national government to solve their problems
B) focused on the governments of their own states
C) adopted a conservative Tory political ideology
D) became less involved in politics

Question 21

Jefferson successfully fought to end entail and primogeniture in Virginia in 1776. To what do entail and primogeniture refer?

A) religious expression
B) inheritance law
C) women's right to choose their husbands
D) the legality of slavery

Question 22

During the American Revolution, George Rogers Clark organized mostly successful militia campaigns against the British in __________.

A) New England
B) the trans-Appalachian West
C) the South
D) Canada

Question 23

France entered the war after the American victory at __________.

A) Brandywine Creek
B) Saratoga
C) Yorktown
D) Vincennes

Question 24

In the years during and after the Revolutionary War, the institution of slavery __________.

A) was abolished in most northern states
B) was unaffected
C) eliminated the possibility of any African Americans serving in the Patriot cause
D) was weakened in the Lower South with the shift away from tobacco farming

Question 25

At the end of 1777, what was the result of two years of fighting?

A) The Patriot cause was near collapse.
B) The British strategy for suppressing the Revolution had been a failure.
C) France and Spain joined the war on Britain's side.
D) Both sides were so exhausted that no more fighting was possible.

Question 26

The Land Ordinance of 1785 was designed to solve the problems that had occurred in the settlement of __________.

A) Tennessee
B) Ohio
C) Kentucky
D) Virginia

Question 27

In which area of the United States was there the least support for ending slavery after the Revolution?

A) Lower South
B) Chesapeake
C) Middle States
D) New England

Question 28

The initial British strategy in the Revolution was to cut off which area from the rest of the colonies?

A) Lower South
B) Virginia
C) New England
D) New York and New Jersey

Question 29

Spain joined the war because its leaders __________.

A) were committed to the Revolutionary cause
B) hoped to regain Florida
C) hoped to regain Canada
D) wished to sell Louisiana to the United States

Question 30

Joseph Brant was __________.

A) a Mohawk chief who fought for Britain
B) the last royal governor of Virginia
C) a Tory spy hanged by Washington at Valley Forge
D) the British general who surrendered at Yorktown

Question 31

To attack Trenton and Princeton in December 1776 and January 1777, Washington had to make a winter crossing of the __________.

A) Delaware River
B) Chesapeake Bay
C) Hudson River
D) Potomac River

Question 32

Which of these had one of the most conservative state constitutions after independence?

A) Delaware
B) Rhode Island
C) Massachusetts
D) Maryland

Question 33

Which area of the United States moved most quickly to abolish slavery after the Revolution?

A) New England
B) Middle States
C) Chesapeake
D) Lower South

Question 34

France's entry into the Revolutionary War forced Britain to change strategy to protect against attacks on __________.

A) shipping in the English Channel
B) Caribbean sugar colonies
C) Tories in New York
D) Florida

Question 35

The government of the Articles of Confederation would be best described as __________.

A) strong and centralized
B) having specific but sharply circumscribed powers
C) powerless and ineffective
D) corrupt and disreputable

Question 36

The first state to abolish slavery was __________.

A) Vermont
B) Rhode Island
C) Delaware
D) Pennsylvania

Question 37

How did George Washington's revolutionary experience affect his views of slavery?

A) He immediately freed all his slaves in 1776.
B) He became more certain of the necessity for slavery.
C) He sold off all his slaves to Barbados.
D) He freed his slaves, but only in his will.

Question 38

The British campaign in the South began with General Clinton's conquest of __________.

A) South Carolina
B) Georgia
C) New Orleans
D) North Carolina

Question 39

Washington may have saved republican government in America in 1783 when he __________.

A) refused to back Continental officers' demands at Newburgh
B) persuaded Maryland to ratify the Articles of Confederation
C) negotiated the peace treaty with Britain
D) put down a slave uprising

Question 40

What situation eventually led to the state of Maryland's adoption of the Articles of Confederation after holding up ratification for three years?

A) Religious toleration was granted to its Catholic constituents.
B) Virginia agreed to give up claims to western lands.
C) Slavery was abolished in the western territories.
D) It was given the right to impose its own tariff duties.

Question 41

What were the essential ideas expressed by George Mason in the Virginia "Declaration of Rights"? How did these ideas shape the federal Constitution of 1789?

Question 42

What was the significance of George Washington's actions at Newburgh?

Question 43

How did the Articles of Confederation deal with the balance of powers between states and the national government? What were the Confederation government's major accomplishments?

Question 44

Discuss the roles of women in the American Revolution. Include the contributions of specific historical female revolutionary women to support your response.

Question 45

Which of these was an important goal of the American negotiators at the peace talks that brought the Revolutionary War to a formal close?

A) to get control of sugar plantations in the Caribbean
B) to gain as much territory for the new nation as possible
C) to ensure that Americans citizens would have the right to dual American-British citizenship
D) to get the British to agree to a defensive alliance against France

Question 46

What impact did the political mobilization that took place in 1774 and 1775 have on political participation?

A) It had little impact on it.
B) It had an important, but temporary, effect on it.
C) It greatly reduced it.
D) It greatly broadened it.

Question 47

The British defeat at Yorktown was accomplished militarily by __________.

A) a cooperative siege by American and French forces
B) superior technology
C) an increase in militia activity
D) the help of Indian allies, especially the Choctaw

Question 48

British alliances with the Cherokee, among other tribes, led to __________.

A) some harsh attacks on American settlements in the South
B) further alliances with Iroquois leaders, such as Joseph Brant
C) Patriot defeat in Virginia
D) pan-Indian rebellion in the West

Question 49

What provision of Jefferson's proposal for the organization of western lands was rejected by Congress?

A) creation of territorial governments
B) abolition of slavery in the West
C) division of western lands into territories
D) creation of a path to statehood for western territories

Question 50

Washington wanted a national army to supplement the militias because __________.

A) longer enlistment periods would help create professional discipline among American soldiers
B) the militias were not to be trusted
C) people taken away from their home state would fight harder
D) the militias were extremely expensive to maintain

Question 51

What state enfranchised both male and female property holders in 1776?

A) New Jersey
B) Virginia
C) Georgia
D) Maryland

Question 52

What was the significance of the Battle of Saratoga?

Question 53

Under the Articles of Confederation, the president was __________.

A) chosen on a rotating basis every year from the most senior members of Congress
B) selected every four years from among the state governors
C) elected every four years by all adult male citizens
D) elected annually by Congress

Question 54

The Patriots referred to the Loyalists as __________.

A) Tories
B) Whigs
C) French
D) Indians

Question 55

What did conservatives see as the greatest danger to the new Republic?

A) resurgent royalism
B) majority tyranny
C) abolitionists
D) women

Question 56

How did Congress seek to spur enlistment in late 1776 and early 1777?

A) It offered bounties, wages, and free land after winning the Revolution.
B) It set up a mandatory draft.
C) It organized community enlistment days.
D) It threatened people who refused to enlist with imprisonment and fines.

Question 57

What role did the French play in the peace talks that brought the Revolutionary War to a formal close?

A) They sought to manipulate the outcome in ways that would place limits on American power.
B) They played no role at all.
C) They virtually dictated the outcome.
D) They pushed the Americans to make even more expansive demands than American officials had first suggested.

Question 58

Which of these is true of the participation of American women in the Revolutionary War?

A) Women played no role at the front lines.
B) Several hundred women fought and were wounded in battle.
C) Women were more likely than men to be Loyalists.
D) Women aided the war effort, but only by carrying out traditional female roles.

Question 59

How did the increasingly global nature of the Revolutionary War after 1780 pose a threat to British imperial interests?

A) With both the French and the Spanish in the war, Britain feared for its West Indies colonies.
B) With resistance to British rule growing in India, Britain worried about spreading its forces too thin.
C) France became increasingly interested in regaining its colonies in the French Crescent, which ran from Canada to Louisiana.
D) Britain worried that Spain would launch a naval blockade of the Atlantic coastline.

Question 60

Which of these best characterizes political debate in the colonial period when only the upper classes were truly engaged in politics?

A) It followed the lines of the traditional Tory and Whig divide in Great Britain.
B) It was sometimes noisy, but never very consequential.
C) It broke down on traditionalist versus radical democratic lines.
D) It tended to focus on issues of social and economic justice.

Question 61

The Iroquois chose to ally with the British instead of the Americans to __________.

A) protect their lands from encroachment
B) honor previous treaties
C) punish the French for earlier insults
D) gain an advantage over their Indian rivals

Question 62

Why did Jefferson's Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom meet with protracted opposition in Virginia?

A) Many planters in Virginia viewed Anglicanism as necessary to the maintenance of their political power.
B) Many of the people of Virginia distrusted Quakers.
C) The anti-Loyalist backlash was strong in Virginia.
D) Freedom of religion was covered well enough in the state constitution.

Question 63

How was representation apportioned in the national assembly created by the Articles of Confederation?

A) Each state had a single vote.
B) Each state had five votes.
C) The number of votes each state received depended on its population.
D) The number of votes each state received depended on its tax contribution to the central government.

Question 64

Unlike France or the Netherlands, why did Spain refuse to establish a formal alliance with the American colonies during the American Revolution?

A) The Spanish feared the threat that the United States would pose to New Spain after gaining independence.
B) The Spanish had already entered into a military alliance with Britain in exchange for the return of Florida.
C) The Spanish monarchy opposed any threat to another European monarchy.
D) Spain believed that supporting an outnumbered Continental Army was a waste of financial resources.

Question 65

Combining a strong religious sense with a concern for the plight of African Americans, Phillis Wheatley is best known for writing __________.

A) poetry
B) sermons
C) political pamphlets
D) newspaper articles

Question 66

By 1800, the free African American population had grown from a few thousand in 1750 to about __________.

A) 200,000
B) 1 million
C) 10,000
D) 50,000

Question 67

Why was the Land Ordinance of 1785 necessary?

A) The government needed to maintain political and economic control of the West.
B) Indian treaties needed to be updated due to the departure of the British.
C) French claims on the Ohio Valley were imminent.
D) Britain was attempting to maintain control after the war, so they kept their forts operational.

Question 68

How did Congress deal with the question of slavery in the West in 1784?

A) Jefferson's proposal to prohibit slavery in the West failed by a vote of 7 to 6.
B) Congress unanimously condemned slavery.
C) Congress's vote to require that western states allow slavery passed by a vote of 7 to 6.
D) No action was proposed or taken in 1784.

Question 69

A colonist might more likely identify with the Loyalists if he or she __________.

A) recently immigrated to North America
B) lived in New England
C) was from the lower strata of the society
D) worked in the shipping industry

Question 70

In the treaties of Fort Stanwix in 1784 and Fort McIntosh in 1785, what did congressional commissioners do?

A) force the Iroquois and many Ohio tribes to cede lands to the United States
B) refuse to pay British war debts until they left American territory west of the Appalachian Mountains
C) establish a special currency for the western territories
D) sell western lands at high prices to the first buyers

Question 71

Compared to the Continental Army, the Patriot militias __________.

A) were less disciplined
B) were better organized
C) attracted more African Americans
D) were less loyal to the cause of the Revolution

Question 72

Maryland initially refused to adopt the Articles of Confederation because __________.

A) Maryland wanted western lands held by other states to be ceded to Congress
B) Maryland wanted guarantees for freedom of religion included in this document
C) Virginia refused to give up slavery
D) Maryland wanted proportional representation in Congress

Question 73

What provision of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 ensured that western communities would be subordinate to the national government?

A) Territorial governors were given absolute veto power over territorial legislation.
B) Territories were not allowed to have their own legislative bodies.
C) Territorial governors were given the right to suspend legal rights.
D) Territorial assemblies were allowed to meet only once every two years.

Question 74

To pay the war debt and stabilize the economy, Robert Morris convinced Congress to __________.

A) charter the Bank of North America
B) charter the First Bank of Philadelphia
C) allow states to print their own currency
D) appoint John Jay as secretary of finance

Question 75

The Articles of Confederation provided for __________.

A) a loose union of largely autonomous states
B) a strong executive branch
C) a powerful judiciary
D) congressional power to levy taxes

Question 76

The Land Ordinance of 1785 provided for __________.

A) the survey and sale of western lands
B) new treaty obligations with Indians
C) a decision-making process regarding whether western states would be slave or free
D) exceptions for British forts on American soil

Question 77

How many states were required to ratify the Articles of Confederation before they could go into effect?

A) all thirteen states
B) twelve states
C) nine states
D) a simple majority of seven states

Question 78

What was the primary reason that African Americans were temporarily barred from joining the Continental Army in 1775?

A) Southern delegates opposed African American enlistment because they feared a potential slave rebellion.
B) American colonists feared that Indian tribes west of the Appalachians would attack settlements in the Low Country and Chesapeake regions while African Americans were away serving in the Continental Army.
C) New England delegates opposed African American enlistment in the Continental Army because fewer African Americans lived in their home region.
D) The French pressured their American allies to bar African Americans from joining the Continental Army.

Question 79

Conservative Americans backed the requirement of a balanced government because __________.

A) they did not trust the "unthinking many"
B) this mirrored the government of most European nations
C) the judicial branch would have ultimate authority
D) they feared a return to monarchy

Question 80

What was Abigail Adams's intention when she asked her husband John in a letter to "remember the ladies" and "not put such unlimited powers in the hands of husbands"?

A) She wanted wives to have legal rights within marriage.
B) She wanted women who owned land to vote in elections.
C) She wanted husbands to do most of the household work while women had the freedom to seek employment outside of the home.
D) She wanted women to hold political office in their local communities.