Deck 6: A Revolution, Indeed, 1774-1783

Question 1

The most significant aspect of the first year of the Revolutionary War was

A) the number of significant battles won by the Americans.
B) the long lull in fighting between British and American forces at Boston.
C) France's decision to ally openly with the United States.
D) Great Britain's decision to use mercenaries.

Answer 1

the long lull in fighting between British and American forces at Boston.

Question 2

Did the committees of observation and inspection enjoy widespread popular support? Why or why not?

A) No, because the election of many radicals to these committees caused further divisions within the resistance movement.
B) No, because the method of election ensured that only members of the elite would be elected to these committees.
C) Yes, because all men eligible to vote for delegates of the lower house of the colonial assemblies were allowed to elect committee members at the local level.
D) Yes, because only well-known men who had previously been elected to positions of authority were chosen as committee members.

Answer 2

Yes, because all men eligible to vote for delegates of the lower house of the colonial assemblies were allowed to elect committee members at the local level.

Question 3

Which of the following was most likely to have been a loyalist?

A) A city artisan
B) A yeoman farmer
C) An Anglican clergyman
D) A Scotch-Irish settler in the southern backcountry

Answer 3

An Anglican clergyman

Question 4

Which of the following accurately identifies Joseph Galloway's plan?

A) Galloway proposed a distinction between taxation and legislation, with the assemblies having authority over the former and Parliament over the latter.
B) Galloway proposed a formal plan of union that required the joint consent of Parliament and a new American legislature to all laws pertaining to the colonies.
C) Galloway proposed that each colony negotiate its own separate agreement with Parliament concerning parliamentary power.
D) Galloway proposed the acceptance of the concept of virtual representation.

Question 5

Lord Dartmouth's letter of January 1775 to General Gage led Gage to

A) send a military expedition to confiscate colonial military supplies stockpiled at Concord.
B) lay siege to Philadelphia.
C) blockade all American ports.
D) relax enforcement of the Coercive Acts.

Question 6

As the Revolutionary War began, British officials attempted to persuade the interior Indian tribes to

A) remain neutral in the British-American conflict.
B) form a pan-Indian alliance in order to prevent further British or American encroachment on Indian lands.
C) conduct raids against white settlements along the frontier.
D) actively ally with the British against the American rebels.

Question 7

Which of the following was most likely to have been an active patriot?

A) A city artisan
B) An African American slave
C) An Anglican clergyman
D) A Pennsylvania Quaker

Question 8

Why was South Carolina less likely than Maryland to support the revolution?

A) The Anglican church had more influence in South Carolina than it did in Maryland.
B) There were fewer Scots-Irish in South Carolina than there were in Maryland.
C) The South Carolina population had a much higher percentage of slaves than did the Maryland population.
D) South Carolina had a lower percentage of tenant farmers than did Maryland.

Question 9

Why was there widespread popular support for the measures adopted by the First Continental Congress?

A) Before any measure could be introduced in the Congress, it had to be approved by three-fourths of the colonial assemblies.
B) Widespread polling had been undertaken in the months before the Congress convened, so the delegates knew what the colonists would accept.
C) The colonists were so frustrated that they willingly accepted any measure that had an anti-British tone.
D) Before the Congress convened, many colonists had participated in open meetings in which they had pledged to support the Congress's decisions.

Question 10

How did Chief Dragging Canoe respond to the fighting between the British and the Americans?

A) He led an attack against white settlements along the western borders of the Carolinas and Virginia.
B) He formed a pan-Indian alliance aimed at ridding North America of all white settlers.
C) He sought an alliance with the British in hopes that he could regain Cherokee land lost to white settlers.
D) He decided that the best course of action was to remain neutral.

Question 11

George Washington's primary goal as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army was to

A) avoid decisive military losses.
B) prevent British reinforcements from coming ashore.
C) destroy the British army.
D) secure financial aid from foreign sources.

Question 12

Which of the following was most likely to have remained neutral in the Revolutionary War?

A) A member of the Chesapeake gentry
B) A Scots-Irish settler in the backcountry
C) A Scottish settler
D) A city artisan

Question 13

Why did sugar producers in the British Caribbean islands decide not to join the mainland colonies in opposing Great Britain?

A) Parliament had not imposed any taxes on its possessions in the Caribbean islands.
B) They were afraid that joining the resistance movement would leave them unprotected in the event of a slave uprising.
C) Quaker pacifists had far greater influence in the British Caribbean islands than in Britain's mainland colonies.
D) Sugar producers in the British Caribbean islands had elected representatives who sat in Parliament.

Question 14

The most difficult task facing the delegates to the First Continental Congress was

A) reaching an agreement about how best to resist the British.
B) deciding who should write the Declaration of Rights and Grievances.
C) reaching a consensus on the nature of the constitutional relationship between the colonies and England.
D) deciding what to include in their list of grievances.

Question 15

Which of the following was a false assumption made by the British concerning the Revolutionary War?

A) The patriots cannot withstand the assaults of trained British soldiers.
B) Victory will not necessitate a large commitment of manpower.
C) It will not be necessary to use the navy in the conflict.
D) Britain will receive aid from other European powers.

Question 16

The British incurred their greatest losses of the entire Revolutionary War in the Battle of

A) Breed's Hill.
B) Long Island.
C) Trenton.
D) White Plains.

Question 17

Committees of observation and inspection were officially charged with enforcing the Continental Association, and they also

A) took over the task of training and outfitting local militia groups.
B) encouraged open debate between loyalists and patriots.
C) established revolutionary tribunals that tried and executed dissidents.
D) established elaborate spy networks to identify opponents of the resistance movement.

Question 18

Which of the following statements best explains the ineffectiveness of the Native Americans in defending their interests during the Revolutionary War?

A) They steadfastly refused to take up arms on behalf of either side.
B) The various tribes were unwilling to set aside their differences in order to pursue a common goal.
C) Their methods of fighting were so primitive that they were not in a position to be of much use to either side.
D) They made the mistake of siding consistently with the British.

Question 19

The Continental Association called for the

A) nonimportation and nonconsumption of British goods.
B) election of representatives to an American legislature.
C) formation of a Continental Army.
D) enactment of laws designed to create a virtuous republic.

Question 20

In the Declaration of Rights and Grievances adopted by the First Continental Congress, the delegates made it clear that the American colonists

A) were most concerned about the arbitrary use of power by King George III.
B) owed no allegiance to Parliament.
C) would only voluntarily obey Parliament.
D) believed that independence from England was the only way to protect their rights and liberties.

Question 21

Which of the following was the goal of British strategy for 1777?

A) To blockade the American coastline
B) For Burgoyne to join forces with Howe at White Plains and invade Pennsylvania
C) To cut New England off from the other colonies
D) To isolate all colonies south of Maryland by taking control of the Potomac

Question 22

Which of the following was the most important consequence of the Battle of Saratoga?

A) It led Lord North to resign as prime minister.
B) It prompted the first parliamentary opposition to the war.
C) It resulted in the surrender of the last British army in America.
D) It brought France into the war as an American ally.

Question 23

As a result of the fall of Charleston in May 1780,

A) the British navy eliminated the French navy as a potential threat.
B) South Carolina served as a secure British base from which to attack the other American states.
C) patriot forces were disheartened and demoralized.
D) many South Carolinians renounced the American cause and pledged their loyalty to the Crown.

Question 24

When the delegates to the Second Continental Congress voted to accept the Declaration of Independence, they

A) established a stable government for the new nation.
B) risked their lives by committing treason.
C) demonstrated complete confidence that America would achieve victory against Great Britain.
D) continued to express a desire for reconciliation with England.

Question 25

Why was the French alliance beneficial to the Americans?

A) The alliance widened the war, making it impossible for the British to concentrate solely on the American mainland.
B) French military officers began the process of retraining soldiers in the Continental Army to fight military engagements in the European style.
C) French influence was essential in negotiating Dutch loans for the United States.
D) The alliance led Russia and Spain to negotiate treaties of alliance with the United States.

Question 26

In response to the threat of smallpox in the ranks of the Continental Army, Washington

A) asked for the resignation of all soldiers who had not had the disease.
B) requested that the Second Continental Congress double the army's medical staff.
C) ordered the inoculation of all members of the regular army and of all new recruits.
D) issued an order discharging all foreign-born men from the Continental Army.

Question 27

Which of the following was true of the officers of the Continental Army?

A) There was little sense of camaraderie among them.
B) Their primary sense of devotion was to their respective states.
C) They developed an intense commitment to the patriot cause.
D) Most refused to serve for more than six months.

Question 28

Which of these statements is most consistent with the sentiments expressed in Common Sense?

A) Our disagreements with Parliament concern minor constitutional points; therefore, Americans should compromise and seek reconciliation with the mother country.
B) These American colonies have had the privilege of serving a loving and enlightened king; nevertheless, independence is still the best course of action.
C) If America declares its independence, it must erect a government much like England's in order to ensure the continuation of liberty.
D) An America that throws off the exploitive British yoke and declares itself an independent republic will be strong, and its citizens will be free.

Question 29

The long-term significance of the Declaration of Independence lies in its

A) charge that Parliament used excessive force in the colonies.
B) statements of principle.
C) charge that the king was responsible for slavery in the colonies.
D) commitment to strong central government.

Question 30

Camp followers were usually

A) women who worked as cooks, nurses, and launderers while traveling with the American forces.
B) reporters who followed the American forces and issued daily news dispatches to colonial newspapers.
C) British spies who followed and watched the activities of the American forces.
D) people who followed the forces of either side for the purpose of watching their military engagements.

Question 31

Reassessment of their war strategy after the Battle of Saratoga led the British to

A) shift the field of battle to the south.
B) shift their attention to urban areas.
C) adopt guerrilla tactics similar to those used by the patriots.
D) concentrate their forces along the New England coast.

Question 32

Which of the following is true concerning the 1776 battle for New York City?

A) Although the British won the battle, their army was demoralized by the number of casualties suffered.
B) Washington successfully defended New York City and demonstrated his abilities as a military tactician.
C) Due to mistakes made by Washington and his men, the city fell to the British.
D) Washington realized too late that he should have abandoned the city to the British without a fight.

Question 33

The British were surrounded and General Burgoyne's entire force of over six thousand men surrendered in the Battle of

A) Bunker Hill.
B) Princeton.
C) Saratoga.
D) Trenton.

Question 34

During the winter of 1779-1780, many Iroquois bands left their ancestral homeland for which of the following reasons?

A) All bands that broke their pledge of neutrality and allied with the Americans were forced onto reservations by the British.
B) They were afraid they would be drawn into the Anglo-American conflict raging around them.
C) The Iroquois ruling council banished from the homeland all bands that remained neutral or allied with the Americans.
D) Their settlements and crops were so completely destroyed by General John Sullivan's expedition that they moved to Canada in search of food and shelter.

Question 35

Before setting up winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, in January 1777, General Washington defeated the redcoats in the battles of

A) Brandywine Creek and Germantown.
B) Brooklyn Heights and Manhattan Island.
C) Fort Ticonderoga and Bennington.
D) Trenton and Princeton.

Question 36

Which of the following is true of American soldiers and sailors held as prisoners of war by the British?

A) Over half of them joined the British army and joined the battle against the Continental Army.
B) Many died of disease because they received meager rations and were confined in prisons that were crowded and unsanitary.
C) They were usually treated decently and humanely.
D) At the end of the Revolutionary War, many of them sailed with their captors back to England.

Question 37

Which of the following was a consequence of Lord Dunmore's Proclamation, issued in November 1775?

A) The Second Continental Congress decided to allow African Americans to enlist in the Continental Army.
B) Yeoman farmers began to desert the Virginia militia and rally to the British side.
C) Slaves rallied to the British side in greater numbers than expected.
D) The Virginia assembly was forcibly disbanded, and many of its leaders were arrested.

Question 38

Which of the following is true of Howe's Philadelphia campaign?

A) Howe's attack was so swift that Washington had no time to organize defenses.
B) Howe's capture of Philadelphia did very little to help the British.
C) The unexpected defeat of Howe's forces at Germantown caused the campaign to collapse.
D) The campaign demoralized the Continental Army.

Question 39

"These are the times that try men's souls." This statement by Thomas Paine was written in response to

A) American deaths at Lexington.
B) General Washington's retreat across New Jersey.
C) the American defeat at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
D) the defection of Benedict Arnold to the British side.

Question 40

Which of the following objectives was pursued by Joseph and Mary Brant?

A) They tried to convince the tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy to migrate to Canada.
B) They tried to convince Native Americans and blacks to forge an alliance and thus take advantage of the Anglo-American conflict.
C) They hoped to persuade the Iroquois Confederacy to ally with the British.
D) They worked to bring about a general slave uprising.

Question 41

As a result of the Battle of Yorktown,

A) Cornwallis retreated to Wilmington to await supplies and fresh troops.
B) the French navy ceased to be effective.
C) Parliament stopped all offensive operations in America and authorized peace negotiations.
D) Cornwallis returned to England as a hero.

Question 42

Which of the following is true of George Washington's decision to resign his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army?

A) By resigning his commission, Washington was demonstrating his support of the soldiers involved in the Newburgh Conspiracy.
B) Washington hoped that by resigning his commission Congress would select him as its president and the chief executive officer of the new republic.
C) It indicated his disdain for the way the Second Continental Congress had managed the war.
D) It established the precedent of civilian control of the American military.

Question 43

Which of the following, in large numbers, joined British forces in the South in the two years following the fall of Charleston?

A) Indentured servants
B) African Americans
C) Wealthy planters
D) Recent immigrants

Question 44

In negotiating the boundaries for the new American nation, the British

A) adopted an inflexible stance that led to restrictive boundaries.
B) completely ignored the territorial rights of their Indian allies.
C) ceded large amounts of territory to France.
D) ceded the area between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi to Spain.

Question 45

The outcome of the Battles of King's Mountain, Cowpens, and Guilford Court House supports which of the following conclusions?

A) General Washington was a brilliant military strategist.
B) The Continental Army was disorganized and demoralized by the winter of 1780.
C) The momentum in the southern campaign had begun to swing to the patriot side.
D) American victory in the Revolutionary War was due primarily to French military ingenuity.

Question 46

After taking command of the southern campaign for the Americans, Nathanael Greene

A) instructed his troops to follow a scorched-earth policy.
B) systematically seized the property of loyalists throughout the South.
C) adopted a conciliatory policy toward loyalists and neutrals throughout the South.
D) destabilized civilian governments throughout the area.

Question 47

What was the western border of the American nation established by the Treaty of Paris?

A) The western border of what is now Ohio
B) The Mississippi River
C) The western border of what is now Indiana
D) The Appalachian Mountains