Deck 5: Colonial Society on the Eve of Revolution, 1700-1775

Question 1

As a result of the rapid population growth in colonial America during the eighteenth century

A)a momentous shift occurred in the balance of power between the colonies and the mother country.
B)the British government was pleased that more workers would be available to fill an increasing need for laborers in Britain.
C)the need for slave labor declined.
D)the colonists became more dependent on Britain for the goods that they needed to survive.
E)the British government granted greater autonomy to colonial governments.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The South held about ____ percent of the slaves in the thirteen colonies of North America.

A)100
B)90
C)80
D)70
E)50

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The population of the thirteen American colonies was

A)about evenly divided among Anglo-Saxons, French, Scots-Irish, and Germans.
B)perhaps the most diverse in the world, although it remained predominantly Anglo-Saxon.
C)overwhelmingly African.
D)the less diverse in the world.
E)None of these

Answer 3

B

Question 4

One feature common to all of the eventually rebellious colonies was their

A)relatively equal wealth.
B)economic organization.
C)similar social structures.
D)rapidly growing populations.
E)support of religious freedom.

Question 5

The population growth of the American colonies by 1775 is attributed mostly to

A)white immigration from Europe.
B)the natural fertility of Native Americans.
C)the importation of slaves from Africa.
D)the influx of immigrants from Latin America.
E)the natural fertility of all Americans.

Question 6

An armed march in Philadelphia in 1764 by Scots-Irish colonial immigrants, protesting the Quaker oligarchy's lenient policy toward the Indians was known as

A)Bacon's Rebellion.
B)March of the Paxton Boys.
C)Regulator Movement.
D)Shays' Rebellion.
E)Oligarchy Revolution.

Question 7

The average age of the American colonists in 1775 was

A)30.
B)27.
C)25.
D)20.
E)16.

Question 8

Identify the statement that is false.

A)In 1700, the Atlantic seaboard colonies contained fewer than 300,000 inhabitants.
B)In 1700, only about 20,000 inhabitants were blacks.
C)By 1775, the Atlantic seaboard colonies contained almost 2.5 million inhabitants.
D)By 1775, the black population rose to over 1 million.
E)White immigrants in 1775 made up about 400,000 of the inhabitants.

Question 9

By 1775, which of the following communities could not be considered a city in colonial America?

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

Question 10

In contrast to the seventeenth century, by 1775, colonial Americans

A)had become more stratified into social classes.
B)had all but eliminated poverty.
C)found that it was easier for ordinary people to acquire land.
D)had nearly lost their fear of slave rebellion.
E)had few people who owned small farms.

Question 11

With regard to governmental authority, the Scots-Irish colonists

A)showed remarkable willingness to follow authority.
B)supported only Britain.
C)cherished no love for the British or any other government.
D)stated a preference for Catholic authority.
E)established good relations with local Indians.

Question 12

The most ethnically diverse region of colonial America was ____, whereas ____ was the least ethnically diverse.

A)New England, the South
B)the middle colonies, the South
C)the South, New England
D)the middle colonies, New England
E)the frontier regions, New England

Question 13

By the end of the 1700s, what was the percentage of people living in rural areas of colonial America?

A)25 percent
B)40 percent
C)60 percent
D)75 percent
E)90 percent

Question 14

In North Carolina, spearheaded by the Scots-Irish, a small insurrection against eastern domination of the colony's affair was known as

A)Bacon's Rebellion.
B)March of the Paxton Boys.
C)Regulator Movement.
D)Shays' Rebellion.
E)Whiskey Rebellion.

Question 15

Colonial immigrants laid the foundations for a new multicultural American national identity by

A)merging their religious traditions with those of Native Americans
B)intermarrying with people from other ethnic groups.
C)pushing their settlements from the East Coast into the backcountry.
D)importing increasing numbers of slaves.
E)None of these

Question 16

On the eve of the American Revolution, social and economic mobility in the colonies decreased for all of the following reasons except

A)earlier wars made Northern merchants rich and created a class of widows and orphans.
B)the supply of unclaimed land in New England began to diminish
C)farmers' sons and daughters were forced to hire out as wage laborers.
D)the average size of New England farms increased dramatically.
E)the gap between owners of large Southern plantations and small farms widened.

Question 17

Identify the statement that is false.

A)The population of the thirteen colonies, mainly Anglo-Saxon, was the least mixed to be found anywhere in the world.
B)The South, holding about 90 percent of the slaves, displayed its historic black-and-white racial composition.
C)New England, mostly staked out by the original Puritan migrants, showed the least ethnic diversity.
D)The Middle Colonies received the bulk of later white immigrants and boasted the most variety of peoples.
E)In 1775, outside of New England, about one-half the population was non-English.

Question 18

By 1775, the ____ were the largest non-English ethnic group in colonial America.

A)Africans
B)Germans
C)West Indians
D)Scots-Irish
E)Irish

Question 19

The Scots-Irish can best be described as

A)pugnacious, lawless, and individualistic.
B)loyal to the British king.
C)people who did not like to move.
D)builders of sturdy homes and well-kept farms.
E)strong supporters of the Catholic Church.

Question 20

All of the following are reasons the thirteen Atlantic seaboard colonies sought independence from Great Britain except

A)distinctive social structures.
B)distinctive economic structures.
C)distinctive political structures.
D)a declining population in the thirteen Atlantic seaboard colonies.
E)the appearance of a recognizably American way of life.

Question 21

By the eighteenth century, the various colonial regions had distinct economic identities; the northern colonies relied on ____, the Chesapeake colonies relied on ____, and the southern colonies relied on ____.

A)cattle and grain, tobacco, rice and indigo
B)furs and skins, tobacco, iron works
C)rice and indigo, lumber and timber, tobacco
D)shipbuilding, iron works, cattle and grain
E)cattle and grain, tobacco, fishing

Question 22

The Molasses Act of 1733 was intended to

A)stimulate the colonies' triangle trade with Africa and the West Indies.
B)satisfy colonial demands for earning foreign exchange money.
C)inhibit colonial trade with the French West Indies.
D)increase the colonists' standard of living and protect the livelihood of colonial merchants.
E)require Americans to sell their molasses to British merchants.

Question 23

By the mid-1700s, the number of poor people in the American colonies

A)became greater than in all of Europe.
B)had increased to the point of overpopulation.
C)had begun to decline from seventeenth-century levels.
D)remained tiny compared with the number in England.
E)was about one-third of the population.

Question 24

Transportation in colonial America was

A)surprisingly fast for the time.
B)safer by road than by any other means.
C)slow by any of the means available.
D)so poor that no mail service was established until the 1800s.
E)fast only on the waterways.

Question 25

What proportion of the British merchant marine fleet was American built?

A)One-fourth
B)One-third
C)Two-thirds
D)Three-fifths
E)None

Question 26

Which of the following were considered the most promising avenues to acquiring speedy wealth in the American colonies?

A)practicing law
B)commercial ventures and land speculation
C)fishing
D)manufacturing
E)buying and selling slaves

Question 27

In 1760, fearful of heavy concentrations of resentful slaves, which colonial legislature unsuccessfully sought to pass legislation that would halt the further importation of slaves.?

A)South Carolina
B)North Carolina
C)Georgia
D)Virginia
E)Maryland

Question 28

Colonial American taverns were all of the following except

A)frequented mainly by the lower class.
B)another cradle of democracy.
C)hotbeds of agitation for the Revolutionary movement.
D)important in crystallizing public opinion.
E)places providing amusements.

Question 29

One of the least honored and most haphazard professions in colonial society was a

A)physician.
B)teacher.
C)minister.
D)farmer.
E)merchant.

Question 30

One feature of the American economy that strained the relationship between the colonies and Britain was the

A)British demand to halt the importation of slaves.
B)growing desire of Americans to trade with other nations in addition to Britain.
C)lack of any British regulations regarding trade with foreign nations.
D)British rejection of the Molasses Act.
E)the Americans' unwillingness to trade with the French West Indies.

Question 31

American colonists sought trade with countries other than Great Britain

A)in order to gain their independence.
B)mainly to anger the king.
C)to anger Parliament.
D)to help strengthen the French.
E)because they needed markets besides Great Britain to sell their surplus goods and correct the colonies' adverse trade imbalance with Britain.

Question 32

The most honored profession in early colonial society was

A)medicine.
B)law.
C)the ministry.
D)farming.
E)the merchants.

Question 33

How did British authorities respond to efforts by colonial legislatures to restrict or halt the importation of slaves?

A)They applauded and supported these efforts.
B)British leaders vetoed such efforts.
C)They allowed only South Carolina's legislation to stand.
D)They viewed such colonial actions as morally callous.
E)The British refused to intervene and did nothing.

Question 34

The leading industry in the American colonies was

A)fishing.
B)manufacturing.
C)commerce.
D)agriculture.
E)slave trading.

Question 35

The riches created by the growing slave population in the American South

A)were distributed evenly among whites.
B)helped to narrow the gap between rich and poor.
C)created a serious problem with inflation.
D)were not distributed evenly among whites.
E)enabled poor whites to escape tenant farming.

Question 36

Although manufacturing in the colonies was of only secondary importance, the colonies did produce which of the following?

A)Rum
B)Beaver hats
C)Lumber
D)Iron
E)All of these

Question 37

Identify the statement that is false.

A)The triangular trade was enormously profitable and made up most of the colonial commerce.
B)A trader would leave New England with a cargo of rum and sail to the Gold Coast of Africa.
C)A trader would barter rum with African chiefs for captured African slaves.
D)A trader would travel to the West Indies with the African slaves for molasses.
E)A trader would travel to New England with the molasses, where it would be distilled into rum.

Question 38

The most important manufacturing enterprise in colonial America in the eighteenth century was

A)iron making.
B)arms and munitions production.
C)lumbering.
D)rum distilling.
E)making clothes.

Question 39

The triangular trade of the colonial American shipping industry

A)was not that profitable.
B)involved America, France, and England.
C)relied on the Spanish fleet for protection.
D)saw the Spanish gaining the largest profits.
E)involved the trading of rum for African slaves.

Question 40

Which of the following was not considered to be a colonial naval store?

A)Tar
B)Pitch
C)Rosin
D)Turpentine
E)Glass

Question 41

Colonial legislatures were often able to bend the power of the governors to their will because

A)the governors often had a greater sense of loyalty to their colony than to the king.
B)the governors were usually chosen by colonial legislatures and could be removed from office by the legislatures.
C)the king generally held the views of colonial legislators in higher regard than those of the governors.
D)colonial legislatures controlled taxes and expenditures that paid the governors' salaries.
E)of the threat of violence.

Question 42

The New Light preachers of the Great Awakening

A)delivered intensely emotional sermons.
B)rarely addressed themselves to the matter of individual salvation.
C)reinforced the established churches.
D)were ultimately unsuccessful in arousing the religious enthusiasm of colonial Americans.
E)opposed the emotionalism of the revivalists.

Question 43

The time-honored English ideal, which Americans accepted for some time, regarded education as all of the following except

A)essential training for citizenship.
B)designed primarily for men.
C)reserved for the aristocratic few.
D)essential for creating leaders.
E)hailed and embraced in New England more than any other region.

Question 44

The jury's decision in the case of John Peter Zenger, a newspaper printer, was significant because

A)he was found guilty.
B)it supported English law.
C)it facilitated freedom of the press and a more robust public discussion of political affairs in the colonies.
D)the ruling prohibited criticism of political officials.
E)it allowed the press to print irresponsible criticisms of powerful people without fearing a successful lawsuit for libel.

Question 45

All of the following contributed to the lack of development of art and artists in early colonial America except

A)simplicity of pioneering life.
B)lack of subjects to paint.
C)lack of talent among the Americans.
D)lack of patrons who could afford the expensive art.
E)lack of art schools in America.

Question 46

To the Puritans, education was essential for

A)reading the Bible.
B)enforcing Christian laws and customs.
C)creating good citizens.
D)writing inspiring sermons.
E)training future ministers.

Question 47

English officials tried to establish the Church of England in as many colonies as possible because

A)they were concerned about the eternal souls of the colonists.
B)the church would act as a major prop for royal authority.
C)such an action would restore enthusiasm for religion.
D)the American colonists supported such a move.
E)such an action brought in more money to England.

Question 48

In 1775, the ____ churches were the only two established (tax-supported) churches in particular colonies in America.

A)Methodist and Anglican
B)Presbyterian and Congregational
C)Congregational and Anglican
D)Quaker and Catholic
E)Presbyterian and Anglican

Question 49

By the early eighteenth century, religion in colonial America was

A)stronger than at any previous time.
B)holding steadfastly to the belief that spiritual conversion was essential for church membership.
C)moving away from clerical intellectualism.
D)less fervid than when the colonies were established.
E)becoming less tolerant.

Question 50

The person most often called the "first civilized American" was

A)Thomas Jefferson.
B)John Trumbull.
C)John Winthrop.
D)Phillis Wheatley.
E)Benjamin Franklin.

Question 51

The first American college free from denominational control was

A)Harvard.
B)Yale.
C)New York University.
D)Brown University.
E)the University of Pennsylvania.

Question 52

In colonial elections

A)most eligible voters zealously exercised their right to vote.
B)the right to vote was reserved for white male property holders.
C)only a small landed elite had the right to vote.
D)average citizens were usually elected to office.
E)true democracy had arrived.

Question 53

All of the following are achievements of Benjamin Franklin except

A)the lightning rod.
B)influential poetry.
C)bifocal glasses.
D)a highly efficient stove.
E)author of Poor Richard's Almanack.

Question 54

One political principle that colonial Americans came to cherish above most others was

A)the property qualification for voting.
B)one man, one vote.
C)the separation of powers.
D)self-taxation through representation.
E)political deference to the ruling colonial clique dominating royal and proprietary colonies.

Question 55

The Great Awakening

A)undermined the prestige of the learned clergy in the colonies.
B)split colonial churches into several competing denominations.
C)led to the founding of Princeton, Dartmouth, and Rutgers colleges.
D)was the first spontaneous mass movement of the American people.
E)All of these

Question 56

Colonial schools and colleges placed their main emphasis on

A)math.
B)science.
C)modern languages.
D)literature.
E)religion.

Question 57

The religious doctrine of the Arminians held that

A)predestination determined a person's eternal fate.
B)good works could get you into heaven.
C)Calvin's ideas should be followed without question.
D)emotion had no place in religion.
E)individual free will determined a person's eternal fate.

Question 58

Art and culture in colonial America

A)involved heavy investment in art.
B)was generally undistinguished and unsupported by colonial patrons.
C)showed its native creativity in architecture.
D)was always important to the colonists.
E)for a long time rejected any European influence.

Question 59

The main reason that Puritan churches were struggling in the early eighteenth century was because

A)parishioners found their theological doctrines too elaborate.
B)parishioners thought that ministers had gone too soft in their preaching.
C)church members embraced the notion of predestination.
D)they banned their predominantly female membership from any leadership positions.
E)the Anglican Church successfully competed for church members.

Question 60

All of the following are true statements about colonial newspapers on the eve of the Revolution except

A)there were about forty different newspapers throughout the colonies.
B)they were typically published twice a week.
C)they proved to be powerful vehicles for airing grievances and rallying support against England.
D)they consisted of a single large sheet of paper folded once.
E)the news they contained often lagged weeks behind the events themselves.

Question 61

​Each of the following multiple choice questions has multiple correct responses. Select the correct responses for each of the following questions.
The rebelliousness and inclination toward violence of the Scots-Irish was demonstrated by

A)the trial of John Peter Zenger in New York.
B)the Paxton Boys in Philadelphia.
C)the Regulator movement in North Carolina.
D)the Great Awakening in New England.
E)opposition to slavery.

Question 62

​Each of the following multiple choice questions has multiple correct responses. Select the correct responses for each of the following questions.
Generally, in the eighteenth-century American colonies

A)most people had sufficient food to stay healthy.
B)many homes had bathtubs and running water.
C)lotteries were a usual source of funds used for civic purposes.
D)Christmas was New England's favorite holiday.
E)labor was heavy and constant.

Question 63

Slave Christianity emphasized all of the following in their faith except

A)Jesus was the Messiah who would deliver them from bondage.
B)that they should be humble and obedient.
C)heaven was a place where they would be reunited with their ancestors.
D)that God freed the Hebrews from slavery.
E)how to use religious songs as encoded messages about escape.

Question 64

​Each of the following multiple choice questions has multiple correct responses. Select the correct responses for each of the following questions.
Trends that sapped the spiritual vitality from many early eighteenth-century churches included

A)clerical intellectualism.
B)predestination.
C)the rejection of Arminianism.
D)lay liberalism.
E)the growing strength of Catholicism.

Question 65

​Each of the following multiple choice questions has multiple correct responses. Select the correct responses for each of the following questions.
Bacon's Rebellion stemmed from

A)Governor Berkeley's Indian policies.
B)the frustration of Virginia's colonial dependency on England.
C)the frontier's resentment of the tidewater gentry.
D)the inherent rebelliousness of African slaves.
E)lack of a policy toward Indians.

Question 66

​Each of the following multiple choice questions has multiple correct responses. Select the correct responses for each of the following questions.
Benjamin Franklin

A)was the author of Poor Richard's Almanack.
B)celebrated the virtues of thrift, hard work, and common sense.
C)was a severe critic of the Great Awakening.
D)was John Peter Zenger's defense lawyer.
E)was a scientist.

Question 67

​Each of the following multiple choice questions has multiple correct responses. Select the correct responses for each of the following questions.
Which of the following represented examples of resistance by African Americans to the power and influence of the white planter elite?

A)"Negro spirituals"
B)Adhering to the Christian belief in obedience
C)Slave religion
D)The development of an American form of Islam
E)The New York and South Carolina slave revolts

Question 68

Identify the statement that is false.

A)Most of the early African immigrants gained their freedom.
B)The legal difference between a slave and a servant was unclear early on in colonial history.
C)Slavery in American began for economic reasons.
D)Slavery was harshest in the deep South.
E)Some slaves became slave owners once they were freed.

Question 69

​Each of the following multiple choice questions has multiple correct responses. Select the correct responses for each of the following questions.
In 1775, most of the population in the American colonies

A)lived east of the Allegheny Mountains.
B)lived in rural areas.
C)was under twenty-five years of age.
D)was of predominantly English stock.
E)was of non-English stock.

Question 70

​Each of the following multiple choice questions has multiple correct responses. Select the correct responses for each of the following questions.
Leaders of the Great Awakening endorsed the concepts of

A)salvation through "good works."
B)divine omnipotence.
C)the Half-Way Covenant.
D)predestination.
E)Arminianism.

Question 71

​Each of the following multiple choice questions has multiple correct responses. Select the correct responses for each of the following questions.
Colonial newspaper printer John Peter Zenger

A)was accused of seditious libel.
B)was found innocent of the charges brought against him.
C)printed comments accusing the royal governor of corruption.
D)had his case dismissed on a legal technicality.
E)was responsible for temporary restrictions on the free press.

Question 72

​All of the following characterized "old light" clergymen except

A)they were deeply skeptical of religious revivalists promoting the Great Awakening.
B)they were proponents of utilizing emotionalism and theatrics in religious preaching.
C)they took issue with key aspects of the stark theology of Jonathan Edwards.
D)they included both Congregationalist and Presbyterian ministers.
E)they were quite uncomfortable with the religious preaching style of George Whitefield and other Great Awakening-influenced ministers.

Question 73

​Each of the following multiple choice questions has multiple correct responses. Select the correct responses for each of the following questions.
By 1775, population growth in the American colonies

A)was beginning to slow down.
B)was causing the population to double about every twenty-five years.
C)was attributable more to reproduction than to immigration.
D)made the American colonies more populous than England.
E)led to greater dependence on England.

Question 74

All of the following are true conditions of the Chesapeake, as compared to the Deep South, except

A)tobacco was less physically demanding than rice.
B)tobacco plantations were larger and closer to one another, allowing for more contact with friends and relatives.
C)the proportion of female slaves in the Chesapeake had begun to rise by 1720.
D)it was one of the few slave societies in history to perpetuate itself by its own natural reproduction.
E)as the slave population began to rise, the development of a distinctive African American family life became impossible.

Question 75

By the mid-eighteenth century, the overwhelming majority of North American colonies shared all of the following similarities except

A)full democratic participation by all colonists in political affairs, regardless of social and economic class.
B)the dominant use of English in language.
C)the dominance of Protestantism in religion.
D)increased opportunity for social mobility.
E)some degree of ethnic and religious toleration.

Question 76

The slave culture that developed in America

A)was derived exclusively from African roots.
B)rejected Christianity.
C)was Muslim in its religious teachings.
D)contained many Western elements that remained thoroughly European.
E)included the distinctive cultural contributions of native-born African Americans.

Question 77

What was created by the mid-1700s that helped connect the Atlantic seaboard colonies of Great Britain to each other in a more cohesive manner?

A)an intercolonial postal system
B)an intercolonial paved roads system that connected all of the cities of the Atlantic seaboard colonies.
C)an intercolonial canals system
D)an intercolonial currency and monetary system
E)none of these choices

Question 78

African American contributions to American culture include all of the following except

A)jazz music.
B)the banjo.
C)the piano.
D)an array of African words that have passed into the American lexicon.
E)a unique language, Gullah.

Question 79

All of the following can be said about slave culture in the colonies except

A)native-born African Americans had much to do with its development and growth.
B)it included a unique language that blended African and English words.
C)it transformed African religious rituals into what would become new musical forms.
D)it merged a blend of traditional African folkways with those found in the colonies.
E)it emerged from efforts by slave traders to suppress African speech, religion and traditions.

Question 80

​Each of the following multiple choice questions has multiple correct responses. Select the correct responses for each of the following questions.
In colonial New England, education was primarily

A)for boys.
B)designed to promote good citizenship.
C)intended for religious instruction.
D)provided to foster independent thinking and aesthetic appreciation.
E)a blessing, even for the poor.