Deck 6: The War for Independence 1774-1783

Question 1

Who headed the Massachusetts Committee of Safety in 1774?

A) Samuel Adams
B) John Hancock
C) John Adams
D) Paul Revere

Answer 1

John Hancock

Question 2

The Committee of Safety:

A) sought to disband the Minutemen.
B) organized a militia.
C) called for the creation of a Provincial Congress.
D) was most active in the Lower South.

Answer 2

organized a militia.

Question 3

During the Revolutionary War, loyalists made up about ___ percent of the colonial population.

A) 3
B) 5
C) 10
D) 20

Answer 3

20

Question 4

The Conciliatory Proposition pledged not to tax the colonists if they:

A) swore allegiance to the king.
B) purchased all of their finished goods from England.
C) quartered British troops in America.
D) voluntarily contributed to the defense of the empire.

Question 5

Gage and his troops were given orders to arrest John Hancock and whom on April 18, 1775?

A) John Adams
B) Ethan Allen
C) Paul Revere
D) Samuel Adams

Question 6

Paul Revere worked as a:

A) silversmith.
B) publisher.
C) lawyer.
D) courier.

Question 7

The first American casualties of the Revolutionary War were killed in:

A) Lexington.
B) Concord.
C) Boston.
D) Philadelphia.

Question 8

Who dubbed the first shot fired in Lexington the shot "heard round the world"?

A) Irving
B) Emerson
C) Whitman
D) Longfellow

Question 9

In its early days, the Second Continental Congress did all of the following, EXCEPT:

A) establish a postal system.
B) establish a currency.
C) accept North's Conciliatory Proposition.
D) create the Continental Army.

Question 10

At the start of the Revolutionary War, who commanded militia forces from Massachusetts?

A) Ethan Allen
B) Benedict Arnold
C) John Adams
D) Paul Revere

Question 11

Fort Ticonderoga was located at the southern end of:

A) Boston Harbor.
B) Lake Champlain.
C) Lake Erie.
D) the Hudson River.

Question 12

What document asserted American patriots would "die freemen, rather than live as slaves"?

A) The Olive Branch Petition
B) The Declaration of Independence
C) The Constitution
D) The Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms

Question 13

John Adams of Massachusetts nominated George Washington as commander in chief of the army because:

A) they were old college friends.
B) Washington was from a southern state.
C) Washington was willing to spend his own fortune on arms for his troops.
D) Washington had agreed to support Adams' bid to be the first president.

Question 14

Of what battle did a British officer remark that another such victory "would have ruined us"?

A) Battle of Lexington
B) Battle of Concord
C) Battle of Fort Ticonderoga
D) Battle of Bunker Hill

Question 15

In March 1776, the British evacuated their troops from Boston and moved to:

A) Providence.
B) Portland.
C) New Haven.
D) Halifax.

Question 16

Thomas Paine:

A) was born in Massachusetts.
B) was illiterate.
C) was an early supporter of independence.
D) eventually joined the loyalists.

Question 17

The American forces that traveled through Maine to attack Quebec were led by:

A) Washington.
B) Arnold.
C) Allen.
D) Adams.

Question 18

The pro-independence pamphlet Common Sense was written by:

A) Paine.
B) Jefferson.
C) Franklin.
D) Madison.

Question 19

The first resolution in the Second Continental Congress that called for independence was introduced by:

A) Samuel Adams.
B) John Adams.
C) Benjamin Franklin.
D) Richard Henry Lee.

Question 20

Who composed the first draft of the Declaration of Independence?

A) John Adams
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) Thomas Paine
D) George Washington

Question 21

In the phrase "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," the third element was originally:

A) property.
B) equality.
C) happiness.
D) democracy.

Question 22

Most Whigs subscribed to the political ideology known as:

A) republicanism.
B) statism.
C) libertarianism.
D) liberalism.

Question 23

Republicanism was least associated with:

A) "country" ideology.
B) the Enlightenment.
C) the Renaissance.
D) Tory philosophy.

Question 24

The Continental Army's "drillmaster" was:

A) Lafayette.
B) Kalb.
C) Pulaski.
D) von Steuben.

Question 25

German mercenaries were called what by the Americans?

A) Prussians
B) Badens
C) Bavarians
D) Hessians

Question 26

The Newburgh affair was defused by:

A) congressional appropriations of payment for soldiers.
B) a show of force from soldiers loyal to the government.
C) George Washington.
D) Alexander Hamilton.

Question 27

The "Brown Bess" was a type of:

A) knife.
B) musket.
C) horse.
D) hat.

Question 28

Benedict Arnold offered to surrender what to the British?

A) West Point
B) Annapolis
C) Valley Forge
D) Providence

Question 29

Mary Ludwig Hays is likely to have been the inspiration for:

A) Rivet Rosey.
B) Molly Pitcher.
C) Annie Oakley.
D) none of the above

Question 30

The legend of Molly Pitcher revolves around what battle?

A) Valley Forge
B) Lexington
C) Princeton
D) Monmouth Court House

Question 31

Early in the war, some royal officials sought to recruit black slaves into the loyalist forces with a promise of:

A) freedom.
B) land.
C) money.
D) passage to Africa.

Question 32

During the late colonial period, the headquarters of the British Army in America was in:

A) Boston.
B) New York.
C) Philadelphia.
D) Norfolk.

Question 33

Which battle took place the day after Christmas, 1776?

A) The Battle of Princeton
B) The Battle of Trenton
C) The Battle of White Plains
D) The Battle of Brooklyn Heights

Question 34

Whose nickname was "Gentleman Johnny"?

A) John Adams
B) John Jay
C) John Howe
D) John Burgoyne

Question 35

After what battle did General Burgoyne surrender to the Americans?

A) The Battle of Princeton
B) The Battle of Ticonderoga
C) The Battle of Saratoga
D) The Battle of Brandywine Creek

Question 36

Who received the British surrender at the Battle of Saratoga?

A) Washington
B) Gates
C) Jones
D) Arnold

Question 37

After the Battle of Brandywine Creek, General Howe spent the winter in:

A) New York.
B) New Haven.
C) Princeton.
D) Philadelphia.

Question 38

The Continental Army spent the winter of 1777 in:

A) Morristown, NJ.
B) Philadelphia, PA.
C) Williamsburg, VA.
D) Valley Forge, PA.

Question 39

In the winter of 1777, some congressmen tried to replace Washington with:

A) Arnold.
B) Jones.
C) Gates.
D) Howe.

Question 40

Who led American efforts in Paris to gain French support?

A) Franklin
B) Jefferson
C) Lafayette
D) Madison

Question 41

The leader of what nation suggested European powers form a League of Armed Neutrality?

A) France
B) Germany
C) Holland
D) Russia

Question 42

England went to war with which country after it joined the League of Armed Neutrality?

A) Holland
B) Russia
C) Denmark
D) France

Question 43

Which of the following was not a British settlement in the Mississippi Valley in 1778?

A) Kaskaskia
B) Cahokia
C) St. Louis
D) Vincennes

Question 44

What was the last major military engagement in the North of the Revolutionary War?

A) The Battle of Bunker Hill
B) The Battle of White Plains
C) The Battle of Monmouth Court House
D) The Battle of Trenton

Question 45

British and Indian attacks against Kentucky in 1777 were directed from:

A) Detroit.
B) Pittsburgh.
C) Savannah.
D) Richmond.

Question 46

The American naval flag during the Revolution bore the motto:

A) e pluribus unum.
B) Eternal Father Strong to Save.
C) Don't Tread on Me.
D) Semper Fi.

Question 47

America's first naval hero was:

A) John Barry.
B) George Dewey.
C) John Paul Jones.
D) Jimmy Page.

Question 48

John Paul Jones was born in:

A) Boston.
B) France.
C) Scotland.
D) Annapolis.

Question 49

John Paul Jones' warship was called:

A) Poor Richard.
B) Bon Homme Richard.
C) Serapis.
D) Harvest Moon.

Question 50

Who helped John Paul Jones secure his warship?

A) Jefferson
B) Washington
C) Jay
D) Franklin

Question 51

Who said "I have not yet begun to fight"?

A) Washington
B) Arnold
C) Jones
D) Burgoyne

Question 52

At which battle did a Whig militia from South Carolina decimate a loyalist militia in 1779?

A) The Battle of Kettle Creek
B) The Battle of Charleston
C) The Battle of Yorktown
D) The Battle of Raleigh

Question 53

The military key to the lower South was:

A) St. Augustine.
B) New Orleans.
C) Charleston.
D) Savannah.

Question 54

Which battle represented the worst American defeat of the Revolutionary War?

A) The Battle of Charleston
B) The Battle of Camden
C) The Battle of Cowpens
D) The Battle of Guilford

Question 55

Colonial General Horatio Gates suffered a defeat at:

A) Saratoga.
B) Camden.
C) Yorktown.
D) Trenton.

Question 56

The 1780 battle at Kings Mountain took place in which colony?

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

Question 57

Patriot guerrilla leader Francis Marion was nicknamed:

A) "Swamp Fox."
B) "Mountain Man."
C) "River Rat."
D) "Tree Weasel."

Question 58

Before attacking Cornwallis in Yorktown, the Continental forces faked preparations for an attack on:

A) Quebec.
B) Savannah.
C) New York.
D) Halifax.

Question 59

General Cornwallis surrendered to American troops at:

A) Charleston.
B) Savannah.
C) Yorktown.
D) Camden.

Question 60

The peace negotiations at the end of the Revolutionary War took place in:

A) Amsterdam.
B) Paris.
C) Yalta.
D) Versailles.

Question 61

America's senior negotiator at the peace talks ending the Revolutionary War was:

A) Franklin
B) Washington
C) Jefferson
D) Madison

Question 62

Who was the British Prime Minister during the Revolutionary War peace talks?

A) North
B) Rockingham
C) Shelburne
D) Glenville

Question 63

What was Spain's most important goal in the Paris peace talks?

A) to receive gold
B) to regain Florida
C) to regain the Philippines
D) to regain Gibraltar

Question 64

Who of the following was NOT an American negotiator in Paris?

A) Adams
B) Franklin
C) Jay
D) Washington

Question 65

In the Paris peace agreement,

A) slavery was banned in the northern colonies.
B) slavery was banned in Canada.
C) slavery was banned in New England.
D) nothing was said about the slave trade.

Question 66

Who controlled Florida in the aftermath of the 1783 Treaty of Paris?

A) United States
B) Britain
C) France
D) Spain

Question 67

Some historians say that, besides Washington's leadership, the most crucial reason for the American victory in the Revolutionary War was:

A) the ineptness of British soldiers.
B) the aid of the French.
C) the stable American economy.
D) the European diplomacy of John Adams.

Question 68

England established which African colony for ex-slaves?

A) Liberia
B) Zaire
C) Sierra Leone
D) Rwanda

Question 69

During 1779 and 1780, how many settlers went into Kentucky?

A) 20,000
B) 30,000
C) 40,000
D) 50,000

Question 70

Over the course of the Revolutionary War, prices in America:

A) rose.
B) fell.
C) remained steady.
D) were denominated in French currency.

Question 71

Which of the following Revolutionary War events happened first?

A) Spain declares war on Britain
B) Battle of Princeton
C) Newburgh "Conspiracy"
D) Franco-American alliance

Question 72

Which of the following Revolutionary War events happened last?

A) Battle of Guilford Court House
B) Fall of Charleston, South Carolina
C) Fall of Savannah
D) Beginning of runaway inflation

Question 73

Why did the Americans' fighting style give them an advantage over British forces?

Question 74

How did the writings of John Locke influence the Declaration of Independence?

Question 75

Why did Benedict Arnold offer to help the British?

Question 76

How did the war lead to inflation in the colonies?

Question 77

Analyze Washington's leadership during the war. What qualities made him especially well-suited for his role?

Question 78

What role did marginalized groups (e.g., blacks, Indians, etc.) play in the war for both sides? Were any of these groups left better off after the war ended?

Question 79

Analyze Benjamin Franklin's role in securing American independence.

Question 80

What role did printed media play in generating support for the independence movement?