Deck 7: Revolutionaries at War, 1775-1783

Question 1

Why was it so risky to sign the Declaration of Independence?

A) Doing so revealed the signers political allegiances.
B) Doing so committed the signer to fighting in the Continental army.
C) Doing so exposed the signer to public ridicule.
D) Doing so was an act of treason.

Answer 1

Doing so was an act of treason.

Question 2

Which group did Lord Dunmore call on to join the British side in his November 1775 proclamation?

A) sailors
B) American women
C) indentured servants
D) slaves

Answer 2

slaves

Question 3

_________'s Common Sense sold an amazing 120,000 copies in three months.

A) Thomas Jefferson
B) Benjamin Franklin
C) Patrick Henry
D) Thomas Paine

Answer 3

Thomas Paine

Question 4

The preamble to the Declaration of Independence drew on the ideas of ___________.

A) John Locke
B) Voltaire
C) David Hume
D) Thomas Hobbes

Question 5

After retreating to Nova Scotia, where did General Howe plan to strike next?

A) New York
B) Philadelphia
C) Boston
D) Charleston

Question 6

According to John Locke, sovereign power ultimately resided __________.

A) in the army
B) with God
C) in the monarch
D) in the people

Question 7

The British were finally forced out of Boston when Washington acquired artillery from __________.

A) New York
B) Fort Ticonderoga
C) the French
D) Fort Detroit

Question 8

Which of the following was a consequence of the Battle of Bunker Hill?

A) It ended the siege of Boston.
B) It nearly broke the American will to fight.
C) It demonstrated that the British army was not invincible.
D) It brought France into the war on the American side.

Question 9

All in all, 30,000 __________ mercenaries fought for the British.

A) Dutch
B) Spanish
C) French
D) German

Question 10

The British southern strategy rested on the assumption that __________.

A) loyalty to the crown remained strongest in the South
B) the North would offer only weak resistance
C) plantation crops were critical to the American economy
D) the Americans would engage in large-scale, traditional battles

Question 11

Why did the British offer to free slaves who joined their side?

A) They hoped to inspire anti-slavery forces in New England to switch to the Loyalist side.
B) They wanted to improve their international standing.
C) They hoped to undermine rebellious southern planters.
D) They had already abolished slavery in other parts of the empire.

Question 12

Why did many wealthy Americans resist calls for independence in 1776?

A) They were convinced that an American victory was impossible.
B) They had strong social and economic ties to Britain.
C) They believed that independence would lead to the abolition of slavery.
D) They thought the time was not yet right to break with Britain.

Question 13

__________ took command of the British troops in Quebec in May 1776.

A) William Howe
B) Henry Clinton
C) Charles Cornwallis
D) John Burgoyne

Question 14

Which of these steps did the Second Continental Congress take in May 1775 to put the colonies on a wartime footing?

A) They commissioned five new war ships.
B) They instituted a military draft.
C) They approved the Articles of Confederation.
D) They created an Army Department.

Question 15

With which of the following statements would John Locke have agreed?

A) Rulers possess conditional authority over the people.
B) Democracy is the best form of government.
C) Sovereign power rests in the monarch, the church, and God.
D) Citizens have the right to overthrow the existing government at any time and for any reason.

Question 16

__________ led the Green Mountain Boys and captured Fort Ticonderoga.

A) Ethan Allen
B) Benedict Arnold
C) George Washington
D) Richard Montgomery

Question 17

Which of the following complicated Washington's efforts to defend New York City in 1776?

A) a series of slave revolts
B) the strength of Loyalist sentiment in the area
C) bad weather
D) an outbreak of smallpox among his men

Question 18

What did Congress remove from Jefferson's original version of the Declaration of Independence?

A) direct references to women
B) direct references to slavery
C) personal attacks on George III
D) personal attacks on leading Loyalists

Question 19

American efforts to take Quebec __________.

A) forced the British to retreat from Boston
B) were crowned with success in early 1776
C) were partially successful
D) ended in defeat and retreat

Question 20

In Common Sense, Thomas Paine argued for __________.

A) the creation of an independent constitutional republic
B) one last effort to reconcile with Britain
C) the establishment of an American monarchy
D) a war of annihilation against Native Americans

Question 21

In November 1777, Congress approved __________.

A) the Articles of Confederation
B) Washington's new strategy for defeating the British
C) a draft of the Constitution
D) a peace proposal to be offered to the British

Question 22

What mistake did the British make in late 1776?

A) They failed to press their advantage over Washington's army.
B) They ignored American peace overtures.
C) They sought to destroy the entire American army.
D) They killed civilians and destroyed crops.

Question 23

Which of the following created the model for the constitution of Massachusetts?

A) Thomas Paine
B) Patrick Henry
C) John Adams
D) Samuel Adams

Question 24

Which of the following European nations joined the American side?

A) Spain
B) Portugal
C) Ireland
D) Sardinia

Question 25

By December 1776, __________.

A) the British were beginning to reconsider the question of independence
B) the Americans were close to defeat
C) Washington had fashioned a large and professional army
D) the French had joined the war

Question 26

Who wrote the famous line, "These are the times that try men's souls"?

A) Thomas Paine
B) Patrick Henry
C) Benjamin Franklin
D) Thomas Jefferson

Question 27

The Articles of Confederation __________.

A) created a strong central government
B) gave Congress the power to collect taxes
C) gave the states considerable independence
D) gave Congress the power to regulate trade

Question 28

Each of the thirteen states __________.

A) had removed a functioning colonial government
B) created identical constitutions
C) contributed the same amount of taxes to central government
D) had roughly the same size populations

Question 29

Burgoyne's invasion from Canada into the Hudson Valley turned into a disaster when __________.

A) General Howe failed to push north from New York City to support his efforts
B) bad weather prevented his men from moving south as quickly as planned
C) the Iroquois abandoned their neutrality and began fighting the British in western New York
D) General Washington moved his large army out of Pennsylvania into New York

Question 30

Which of the following was part of the terms of the French and American alliance?

A) France agreed to renounce forever any claim to English land in North America.
B) The Americans agreed to defend French claims to Canada.
C) The American promised to defend French holdings in Florida.
D) France promised to give the Americans control of the island of Jamaica.

Question 31

Why did the French consider sending thirteen ambassadors to America?

A) because the Articles of Confederation created such a loose alliance among the former colonies
B) because they wanted to make sure to speak with as many important Americans as possible
C) because they were worried that one or more might be killed by the British
D) because they wanted to impress the Americans with the wealth and power of the French government

Question 32

Which of the following was a common feature of the new state constitutions?

A) the absence of guarantees of individual rights
B) weakened state legislatures
C) limits on the power of state governors
D) property qualifications of citizenship

Question 33

General Burgoyne's entire army was forced to surrender at the Battle of __________.

A) Trenton
B) Bunker Hill
C) Yorktown
D) Saratoga

Question 34

Congress initially created the navy for what purpose?

A) to prey on British supply ships
B) for coastal defense
C) to capture British supply ships
D) to secure trade routes in the Caribbean

Question 35

Which of the following was a feature of Massachusetts' constitution?

A) property requirements for office holders
B) voting rights for women
C) the abolition of slavery
D) universal white male suffrage

Question 36

In 1777, General Burgoyne led a large British force __________.

A) south from Canada
B) inland through the Carolinas
C) into the Ohio Valley
D) north from Philadelphia

Question 37

How did Congress respond to Washington's insistence that his soldiers needed tighter discipline and better pay?

A) Congress instituted a military draft and set up officer-training schools.
B) Congress ignored Washington's requests.
C) Congress threatened to replace Washington with another commander.
D) Congress expanded Washington's disciplinary powers and offered a bonus to those who enlisted for a three-year term.

Question 38

Benjamin Franklin was sent to __________ as part of a commission seeking European support.

A) Amsterdam
B) Madrid
C) Paris
D) London

Question 39

Which of the following gave Benjamin Franklin greater leverage in his efforts to draw France into the war?

A) the British attack on French sugar islands in the Caribbean
B) the death of Louis XV
C) the American victory at Saratoga
D) the slave uprising in Haiti

Question 40

American soldiers hotly debated the issue of the __________.

A) election of officers
B) length of military service
C) role of state militias
D) participation of women in combat

Question 41

Daniel Boone had already led migrants through the Cumberland Gap in western __________.

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

Question 42

How did Washington turn the tide of war in late 1776 and early 1777?

Question 43

Which of the following was a provision of the peace treaty with Great Britain in 1783?

A) The French retained control of Quebec.
B) The British yielded East and West Florida to Spain.
C) Britain ceded all territories south of the Great Lakes.
D) The United States lost its claim to all lands west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Question 44

How did public pressure lead to the decision to issue the Declaration of Independence?

Question 45

After stinging defeats at Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse, Cornwallis __________.

A) retreated to Yorktown to be resupplied by the Royal Navy
B) regrouped his army and captured the capital of North Carolina
C) turned loose the dragoons under Banistre Tarelton to wage a war against the civilian population
D) retreated back to Charleston to await fresh troops

Question 46

In 1778, General Clinton decided to lead a major campaign in __________.

A) New England
B) the Middle Colonies
C) the Caribbean
D) the South

Question 47

Joseph Brant __________.

A) was a mixed-race Mohawk leader
B) led a successful campaign against the British in northern New York
C) relieved the siege of Boonesboro in Kentucky
D) was an ex-slave and Loyalist sympathizer

Question 48

After General Clinton returned to New York, General __________ took charge of British operations in the South.

A) Howe
B) Gates
C) Burgoyne
D) Cornwallis

Question 49

Privateers __________.

A) obtained licenses from Congress to seize enemy ships
B) organized private militias
C) played a small role in the American navy
D) often switched sides in the middle of battles

Question 50

Most Native Americans in eastern North America __________.

A) fought for whichever side offered the highest pay
B) sided with the Americans
C) tried to remain neutral
D) remained loyal to the British

Question 51

What common concerns shaped all of the new state constitutions?

Question 52

How did the alliance between France and America alter the course of the war?

Question 53

___________ led the American negotiators at the peace discussions that followed the British defeat at Yorktown.

A) Benjamin Franklin
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) John Hancock
D) Alexander Hamilton

Question 54

Bernardo de Gálvez was __________.

A) the governor of Spanish Louisiana
B) a Franciscan friar
C) killed at the Battle of Fort Mobile
D) a spy in the pay of the British