The American Revolution

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Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

Who wrote The Wealth of Nations, which is about the importance of a free economy?

a.	Patrick Henry	c.	Samuel Adams
b.	Thomas Paine	d.	Adam Smith

At the First Continental Congress, Patrick Henry said, ÒI am not a Virginian, but an American.Ó What was his intention when he made that statement?

a.	to urge colonists to join forces	c.	to defend his resistance to violence
b.	to express his anger at the South	d.	to ask colonists to abolish slavery

Which event led to the meeting of the First Continental Congress?

a.	the publication of Common Sense
b.	the “shot heard round the world”
c.	the closing of the port of Boston
d.	the rejection of the Olive Branch Petition

What was the main issue debated during the Second Continental Congress?

a.	whether to seek a peaceful or violent solution
b.	how to plan a surprise attack against Britain
c.	how to convert more colonists to the Patriot cause
d.	whether foreign allies would be beneficial

How did King George’s reaction to the Declaration of Rights affect the relationship between Britain and the colonies?

a.	It assured the colonists that Britain sought a peaceful solution.
b.	It proved to the colonists that Britain would not listen to reason.
c.	It convinced the colonists that they were not ready to challenge Britain.
d.	It reminded the colonists that they were British citizens entitled to rights.

Who were the Sons of Liberty?

a.	a society of colonists who did not wish to break from Britain
b.	a group of patriots who protested British laws
c.	a society of scholars who wrote pamphlets
d.	a group of diplomats who tried to gain foreign support

On the night of April 18, 1775, a force of 700 British soldiers left Boston in search of a major colonial weapons storehouse rumored to be located where?

a.	Cambridge	c.	Lexington
b.	Bunker Hill	d.	Concord

When the Minutemen faced the British Redcoats at the start of the Battle of Lexington, why did their captain yell, “Don’t fire unless fired upon”?

a.	He wanted to hear the “shot heard round the world.”
b.	He wanted to defend against attack, not start a war.
c.	He wanted to reserve ammunition for future conflicts.
d.	He wanted to lure his enemies peaceably back to Boston.

How would the opinions of delegates to the Second Continental Congress be best characterized?

a.	Delegates were always in agreement and the meeting was unnecessary.
b.	Delegates were somewhat divided on minor details of their plan.
c.	Delegates were far from unified but were open to compromise.
d.	Delegates were completely at odds and failed to come to a consensus.

10.

How did the Second Continental Congress decide to handle the British?

a.	They would create the Continental Army to fight the British.
b.	They would pay George Washington to negotiate with the British.
c.	They would mint a new currency to pay off the British.
d.	They would gather foreign allies to help attack the British.

11.

As George Washington prepared to lead the colonists against the British, Congress

a.	attempted to make peace with King George III.
b.	prepared the troops for a fierce battle.
c.	invested in a dozen new cannons.
d.	released 250 British war prisoners.

12.

What effect did Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense have on colonial leaders?

a.	It caused them to reject Enlightenment ideas.
b.	It inspired them to challenge British authority.
c.	It explained to them the good sense of monarchy.
d.	It persuaded them to modify British laws.

13.

Why did Thomas Paine think that citizens should make laws?

a.	He believed that kings were incapable of passing laws.
b.	He felt people had a natural right to govern themselves.
c.	Thomas Jefferson and other leaders had influenced him.
d.	Great Britain had shown this method to be effective.

14.

How did ideas that developed during the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening influence the colonists’ view of government?

a.	They learned to respect authority.
b.	They began to desire political equality.
c.	They realized that war was impractical.
d.	They sought more intelligent leadership.

15.

Why might the ideas in Thomas Paine’s Common Sense have been considered bold at the time?

a.	Citizens of other nations had tried and failed to govern themselves.
b.	Most of the world upheld a free market economy.
c.	Most of the world was still ruled by monarchs.
d.	Citizens of other nations had never heard of democracy.

16.

Why did Thomas Jefferson feel the colonists had the right to break away from Great Britain?

a.	Jefferson did not believe in any form of government.
b.	Great Britain did not protect the rights of the colonists.
c.	Jefferson did not agree that social contracts should be obeyed.
d.	Great Britain no longer showed a desire to govern the colonists.

17.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights...”

According to this passage from the Declaration of Independence, how were natural laws different from the laws imposed by Great Britain?

a.	Natural laws valued a shared sense of humanity over written legislation.
b.	Natural laws relied on a more complicated system of government to function.
c.	Natural laws allowed a nation’s citizens to obtain power quickly and easily.
d.	Natural laws did not restrict a government from taxing people without consent.

18.

Why was the phrase “taxation without representation” so important to the revolutionary cause?

a.	Colonists did not wish to support a government in which they had no voice.
b.	Great Britain would have ended taxation if colonists had kept the peace.
c.	Colonists believed that Great Britain should only tax certain items.
d.	Great Britain only taxed the colonists to force them into war.

19.

The Declaration of Independence raised questions about slavery because

a.	the colonial leaders did not believe slavery should be legal.
b.	it ensured that slaves would have to fight in the Revolution.
c.	it proposed passing laws that would grant rights to slaves.
d.	its message was not consistent with the practice of slavery.

20.

Which group felt the colonies did not need independence?

a.	Loyalists	c.	Patriots
b.	Minutemen	d.	mercenaries

21.

Which of the following did not happen in reaction to the signing of the Declaration of Independence?

a.	More than 50,000 Loyalists fled the colonies as a result of clashes with Patriots.
b.	One of George Washington’s closest friends fled to Britain because he was a Loyalist.
c.	Debates arose over the conflict between the ideals of liberty and the practice of slavery.
d.	Women rallied against being excluded by the claim that “all men are created equal.”

22.

Among colonists, which group made the greatest contribution to the war effort?

a.	soldiers	c.	spies
b.	mercenaries	d.	militia men

23.

Which of these groups was most divided in its support of the Patriots’ war effort?

a.	African Americans	c.	American Indians
b.	wealthy farmers	d.	women

24.

Why did thousands of African-American slaves sign on with the British Army?

a.	George Washington would not pay them for service to the revolutionary army.
b.	The British offered freedom to any slave who served in their army.
c.	British forces were better trained and equipped than American forces.
d.	British forces pledged to put an end to the institution of slavery in America.

25.

Before the battle in New Jersey, why did many Patriot leaders favor a defensive war?

a.	Their actions could then be justified.	c.	They could make a quicker retreat.
b.	Their supplies would last longer.	d.	They could exhaust the enemy sooner.

26.

Why was winning the battle in New Jersey so important to George Washington?

a.	The one-year contract many of his soldiers were fighting under was due to expire, and he knew soldiers would not reenlist in a losing army.
b.	The supply of cash Congress had given him was running low, and mercenaries from the German state of Hesse were threatening to flee.
c.	He had retreated across the Delaware into Pennsylvania, and if he didn’t come through with a victory his political career would be over.
d.	He had chosen a defensive approach to war, and the fact that he’d suffered severe losses as a result made him look like a poor leader.

27.

The Battle of Trenton was different from previous battles because the Patriots

a.	emerged victorious.	c.	took prisoners.
b.	went on the offensive.	d.	fought at night.

28.

Why was the Battle of Saratoga a turning point for the Patriots?

a.	The Patriots realized they did not need foreign allies.
b.	The Patriots saved the army from losing enlisted men.
c.	The Patriots got a Prussian to train the Continental Army.
d.	The Patriots gained the support of France and Spain.

29.

What is the likely reason that Spain became an ally to the Patriots?

a.	Spain wanted to gain control of the colonies.
b.	It appeared that the Patriots were losing the war.
c.	Spain wished to regain Florida from Britain.
d.	No other foreign nation believed in the Patriot cause.

30.

Why was the Marquis de Lafayette interested in the American Revolution?

a.	He wanted to turn other nations away from Enlightenment ideas.
b.	He was interested in obtaining land west of the thirteen colonies.
c.	He believed in the rights of all nations to govern themselves.
d.	He had been hired by the Patriots to fight as a mercenary.

31.

Who was Bernardo de Gálvez?

a.	a Patriot ally who organized troops to attack British posts in the Southeast
b.	a Patriot foe who helped increase the British presence in Spanish Louisiana
c.	a Spanish nobleman who was inspired by the ideas of the American Revolution
d.	a Spanish defector who served in the British Army and was wounded in battle

32.

How was France’s interest in the revolution important from a financial standpoint?

a.	The French tried to repurchase land they had lost in the French and Indian War.
b.	The French provided monetary aid once they believed the Patriots could win.
c.	France would not allow its military to serve without pay.
d.	France introduced its economic system to the colonists.

33.

Why was the winter at Valley Forge such a difficult time for the Continental Army?

a.	The army lacked protection and supplies.
b.	The army began to turn against the revolution.
c.	The army lost several important battles.
d.	The army refused to drill and train.

34.

What challenges did the Patriots face at sea?

a.	Their naval fleet was old and in disrepair.
b.	Their sailors were malnourished and many were sick.
c.	They had too few ships to fight large battles against the British.
d.	Their sailors were brave but had difficulty following orders.

35.

What setbacks did the Patriots face in the West?

a.	They had never explored the area and did not know the lay of the land.
b.	They had not managed to capture Britain’s major frontier base.
c.	They had difficulty following the orders of an inexperienced leader.
d.	They had trouble persuading Indian leaders to remain neutral.

36.

Who was nicknamed “the Swamp Fox,” and why?

a.	John Paul Jones, because his wiliness in capturing the British warship Serapis reminded his crew of a fox
b.	George Rogers Clark, because he led wet troops through the Wabash River to victory at the Battle of Vincennes
c.	George Washington, because his red hair shone like a fox’s coat as he led his men across the Delaware River
d.	Francis Marion, because of his stealth and lightning speed in carrying out guerrilla warfare in the South

37.

What was the first event that led to the Patriots’ defeat of the British at Yorktown?

a.	George Washington combined his troops with those of the French general, Comte de Rochambeau.
b.	Charles Cornwallis prepared to attack a small Patriot force led by the Marquis de Lafayette.
c.	Charles Cornwallis moved his troops in hopes of maintaining communication with the British Navy.
d.	A French naval fleet approaching from the West Indies seized control of the Chesapeake Bay.

38.

Which of these explanations does not account for why the British set their sights on the South?

a.	Fighters in the northern colonies were giving the British unanticipated difficulty.
b.	Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia had large populations of pro-British Loyalists.
c.	They could use brutal tactics because it would take longer for news to reach the capital.
d.	Slaves could be turned against the colonists with guns and a promise of freedom.

39.

Which of these was not a result of the 1783 Treaty of Paris?

a.	America’s borders were set.
b.	The war was officially over.
c.	The colonies became the United States of America.
d.	Land west of the thirteen colonies was given to France.

40.

What was the primary reason why the British entered into peace talks with America after the Battle of Yorktown?

a.	The British suffered the loss of thousands of soldiers, and knew it would take years to recruit and train that many new men.
b.	The British had been neglecting its relations with France and decided to change their focus to matters closer to home.
c.	The British chose to give up the small portion of land making up the 13 colonies and turned their focus to the land in the West.
d.	The British could afford to spend years on writing an agreeable treaty, but could not afford to spend more money on its army.

41.

What word did George Washington use to refer to the days spent by the soldiers in the Continental Army?

a.	“victorious”	c.	“courageous”
b.	“glorious”	d.	“prosperous”