Q&A Hero

Q: In the 1780s, why did Americans disagree sharply over the relative importance of liberty and order? A) Americans believed that in order to gain liberty, everyone should be given extensive civil rights. B) Some Americans believed people should be free; others believed they should be well-mannered. C) Americans who valued British traditions supported order; those loyal to the new American government supported liberty. D) Religious leaders preached order while politicians advocated for liberty and religious freedom. E) After British tyranny Americans valued liberty but recognized the importance of order.

Q: How did the debate between public morality and private freedom inform political debate in the 1780s? A) The Americans who preached public morality did not believe in political debate. B) Because public morality and private freedom are in direct contrast, they mirror the political debates of the 1780s about tyranny versus republicanism. C) Because public morality leads to private freedom, Americans believed that British tyranny would lead to American democracy. D) Americans defended individual rights but believed that a society without virtue couldn"t preserve liberty and independence. E) Because English colonialism had imposed public morality, Americans rejected it for private freedom.

Q: The author of the original proposal for the Bill of Rights was ________. A) Patrick Henry B) George Washington C) Alexander Hamilton D) James Madison E) Thomas Jefferson

Q: The Federalist was a series of essays written by ________. A) Washington and Adams B) Thomas Jefferson C) Madison, Hamilton, and Jay D) Randolph and Franklin E) Samuel Chase

Q: The economic depression of the 1780s was caused by which of these? A) the emergence of industrialization in the Northeast B) a slump in cotton prices C) a trade imbalance with Great Britain D) poor tobacco harvests E) an earlier European depression

Q: The three-fifths rule concerned the issue of ________. A) whether or not to count slaves as part of the population B) the number of branches in the national government C) checks and balances D) presidential power E) the number of votes required in the House to pass legislation

Q: Men that were called nationalists in the early 1780s were the ________ later in the same decade. A) Whigs B) Federalists C) Antifederalists D) Tories E) Republicans

Q: Under whose intellectual guidance did the Constitutional Convention form a new government? A) Robert Morris B) Alexander Hamilton C) James Madison D) Benjamin Franklin E) Thomas Jefferson

Q: An important procedural decision approved at the opening of the Constitutional Convention involved ________. A) publicizing the convention's meetings and debates B) refusing to allow the small states to present their plans for constitutional revisions C) the decision to keep deliberations as secret as possible D) the election of James Madison as chairman E) the requirement of a plurality rather than a simple majority to implement changes

Q: Shays's Rebellion involved ________. A) discontented New England merchants B) western settlers demanding Indian territory C) supporters of freer trade with Great Britain D) discontented farmers in Massachusetts E) Continental Army officers who had been denied their pensions

Q: The most important result of the Annapolis Meeting of 1786 was ________. A) that it added support for the Articles of Confederation B) the establishment of new, more efficient trade regulations for the United States C) the settlement of problems involving Spain's control of the Mississippi River D) the nationalists' recommendation to Congress for a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation E) the growing political power and influence of James Madison

Q: The European philosopher whose ideas supported the theory of state sovereignty was ________. A) Locke B) Montesquieu C) Voltaire D) Machiavelli E) Rousseau

Q: The most brilliant American political theorist of the post-revolutionary period was ________. A) James Madison B) George Washington C) John Locke D) John Adams E) Thomas Jefferson

Q: The Northwest Ordinance ________. A) defined the process by which a territory became a state B) provided for a survey of the Northwest Territory C) ignored the basic rights of settlers in the region D) specifically allowed slavery to exist in the region E) was one of the first acts passed under the Confederation

Q: Negotiations between the states and Spain were opened as a result of what event? A) Spain closed the Mississippi to U.S. citizens in 1784. B) The U.S. failed to make good its obligations from the Revolutionary War. C) The Spanish government was seriously weakened following the French Revolution. D) Gold was discovered in California. E) France and Britain declared war on Spain.

Q: The most important accomplishment of Congress under the Articles of Confederation was its ________. A) disposition of the Florida border problem with Spain B) passage of ordinances organizing the Northwest Territory C) management of the nation's financial affairs D) rejection of British demands for territory along the country's borders with Canada E) set of rules for interstate trade and tariffs

Q: The controversy which delayed ratification of the Articles of Confederation involved ________. A) slavery B) the disposition of western lands C) American relations with European countries D) regulating trade with British manufacturers E) boundaries between the states

Q: The Articles of Confederation ________. A) gave too much power to the central government B) provided for state representation by population C) jealously guarded state sovereignty at the expense of national power D) created a powerful presidency E) changed little from first draft to final document

Q: In the 1780s, nationalists were those who _______. A) advocated the elimination of sectional differences B) pushed to establish symbols such as the flag and a national anthem C) supported states' rights D) called for a strong central government E) called for a firm stand against Britain

Q: Most new state constitutions after the American Revolution ________. A) strengthened the power of the governors B) weakened the power of the legislature C) avoided written constitutions D) included Declarations of Rights E) affirmed the freedom of speech and press but not of religion

Q: The Americans who wrote the first state constitutions were alike in that all ________. A) totally rejected British traditions and ideas in creating them B) demanded written documents C) refused to include bills of rights D) made the constitutions vague and imprecise where basic rights were concerned E) followed the example of the British constitution

Q: How many states did not have to draft new constitutions, since they already had republican governments as part of their colonial charters? A) none B) one C) two D) three E) four

Q: Even before achieving statehood, ________ prohibited slavery in its constitution. A) Connecticut B) New Jersey C) Massachusetts D) Pennsylvania E) Vermont

Q: Which statement best explains why the Boston Tea Party became a famous symbol of the American Revolution? A) The Boston Tea Party was one of the most destructive acts in the entire war. B) The Boston Tea Party was the final action before the first shots that led to the actual war. C) The Boston Tea Party showed that the colonists had lost their respect for the British monarchy. D) The Boston Tea Party not only killed many soldiers, it also destroyed millions of dollars worth of property. E) The Boston Tea Party was an unprecedented act of violence by angry colonists against the British troops.

Q: What does the following quote by Benjamin Rush signify? "The American war is over, but this is far from being the case with the American Revolution. On the contrary, nothing but the first act of the great drama is closed." A) The American Revolution was not a war at all, but merely a break from English control over the colonies. B) The war was merely the first step in the colonists' move toward establishing a new nation. C) The war was not yet over and the Americans needed to prepare for another round of fighting against the British if they ever hoped to gain their independence. D) Americans needed to free themselves from other European countries that were restricting their trade and keeping them from economic and political independence. E) The American Revolution would not end until the English monarchy was destroyed and a new form of government was put in place in England to better rule the colonies.

Q: What was the most significant outcome of the Boston Massacre? A) It demonstrated to the colonists that British troops were largely symbolic and the British would back down in the face of organized resistance. B) It demonstrated to the colonists that British troops had no effective way to restore order in the colonies. C) It showed that the colonists had a better organized army than the British and would be difficult to defeat. D) It was the first act of organized resistance against the British troops in the colonies. E) It demonstrated to the colonists that British troops would resort to violence to restore order in the colonies.

Q: Which of the following was NOT a task facing the new nation? A) deciding what form the new government would take B) learning how political power would be distributed C) learning how to ensure political equality for all D) learning to fend off French attempts to control the country E) bridging the division of state and federal authority

Q: Which of the following was NOT a key benefit of the Treaty of Paris for the United States? A) guaranteed independence B) fishing rights in the North Atlantic C) the rights to Florida D) all territory east of the Mississippi River E) an end to the war

Q: What was the significance of the Treaty of Paris of 1783? A) It established the American borders at the Appalachian Mountains. B) It ensured Loyalists would not be compensated for their lands. C) It did not provide a favorable conclusion to the war. D) It allowed Americans the opportunity to form an independent nation. E) It did not include compensation for Loyalists.

Q: After the Revolutionary War, why did many American Loyalists who returned to England feel betrayed? A) They were treated as second-class citizens in England. B) They were denied any monetary compensation for their sacrifices. C) They were viewed as traitors by the native-born English. D) They were viewed as foreigners by the native-born English. E) They were put in prisons because they would not pay their debts.

Q: American Loyalists, who sided with the British during the War for Independence, ________. A) tended to be wealthy conservatives B) were known for their wickedness and immorality C) favored a strongly centralized, authoritarian form of government D) came from all occupations and social classes E) were pacifists who opposed war for any reason

Q: Which event marked the end of the military phase of the war? A) the capture of New York City by French forces B) Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga C) the British evacuation of Boston D) Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown E) the destruction of a British army at the Battle of New Orleans

Q: What did military strategists in 1779 predict would be Britain's last chance for victory over the colonies? A) a more effective use of its great navy B) the breaking of the French-American alliance C) calling on its European allies for help D) a successful campaign in the Southern Colonies E) increasing the British army in the colonies by 25,000 men

Q: Why did many African Americans in the North take up arms to fight the British? A) They believed that the king and the British Parliament were solely responsible for their lack of freedom. B) They felt that the British had unfairly taxed them without offering representation in Congress. C) They believed that the Americans were more likely to win the war. D) They felt that the army was the safest place for them to be at the time. E) They felt that the Americans were more likely to free them from slavery if they sided with them.

Q: What was the role of the colonial militias? A) They played a decisive role in several major battles. B) They kept the slave population in line. C) They maintained political control in areas not occupied by British troops. D) They consisted mainly of African Americans. E) They would sometimes switch sides if they did not get paid.

Q: Which of the following explains why England lost the Revolutionary War? A) The British government did not believe it could win the war. B) British finances could not support the war. C) British strategists did not understand how to fight the war. D) George III never supported the war effort. E) British soldiers sympathized with the Americans.

Q: What was the significance of Thomas Paine's Common Sense? A) Widening popular support for revolution. B) It acknowledged the sovereignty of the monarch. C) It persuaded colonial elites to sever their ties with Great Britain. D) It had little immediate popularity among the colonists. E) It did not criticize all monarchs, just George III.

Q: What was the most important responsibility facing the Second Continental Congress? A) to convince the colonists of the necessity for war B) to win loyalty from the Indians C) to organize the colonies for war D) to find a strong political leader for the nation E) to draft the Declaration of Independence

Q: What was the main purpose of the continental "Association"? A) to foster improved relations between the various colonies B) to seek a conservative, peaceful resolution of the political crises of the mid"1770s C) to raise money to feed starving Indians displaced by western settlements D) to halt trade with Britain until the Intolerable Acts were repealed E) to raise and equip armies to fight for the American cause

Q: While repealing the Townshend duties, why did the North ministry retain a tax on tea? A) to stabilize prices for tea B) to punish American tea smugglers C) to punish John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and the Sons of Liberty D) to symbolize Parliament's power to tax Americans E) to ensure that tea from England would not be boycotted

Q: Which list places events in the correct order? A) Townshend duties, Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre, Coercive Acts B) Townshend duties, Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, Coercive Acts C) Boston Tea Party, Coercive Acts, Boston Massacre, Townshend duties D) Coercive Acts, Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre, Townshend duties E) Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre, Townshend duties, Coercive Acts

Q: What was the tone of the Stamp Act Congress? A) extreme radicalism, with some delegates calling for an immediate declaration of independence B) restraint and conciliation, with no mention of independence or disloyalty C) bitter division between pro-independence radicals and Loyalists who favored British rule D) angry disputes between various colonies and regions E) a show of the strength of the Loyalist faction in the colonies

Q: Which of the following did NOT occur as part of the Stamp Act crisis? A) Patrick Henry denounced British taxation with his Virginia Resolves. B) A Stamp Act Congress drew together colonial leaders from different regions. C) Resistance drew many into political action that included street violence. D) Massachusetts reacted so bitterly that the British imposed the Coercive Acts. E) Colonial women began to take a greater role in politics.

Q: In what way did the Sugar Act differ from earlier regulations, such as the Navigation Acts? A) Its purpose was to show the colonists that they were not in control. B) Its purpose was to show the colonists that they were autonomous. C) It taxed sugar for the specific benefit of the East India Company. D) Its purpose was to collect revenue from the Americans. E) It had nothing to do with trade.

Q: What was the most significant consequence of the Seven Years' War? A) its virtual destruction of American Indians B) Britain's staggering war debt C) the remaining French toehold in Quebec D) the assassination of George II E) a distaste for further fighting by the colonists

Q: Which of the following linked religious values to the practice of government? A) colonial newspapers B) the Great Awakening C) theories of the Earl of Bute D) ideas from the Commonwealthman E) the works of John Locke

Q: Which was central to the colonists' position in the Anglo-American debate over parliamentary powers? A) their strong belief in the powers of their own provincial assemblies B) their unswerving support of the monarchy C) their willingness to defer to the wishes of Parliament D) their desire for an authoritarian government E) their desire for revolution

Q: How did ordinary colonists respond after the wealthy elite had initiated the American rebellion? A) They rejected the lead of their "betters." B) They lost rights gained during the colonial period. C) They turned an elite movement into a mass movement. D) They fought for a socioeconomic revolution against the gentry. E) They retreated further from political activities.

Q: For the British, French intervention meant ________. A) a change in military strategy B) little change in their military strategy C) little challenge to their empire D) a new ally in the war effort E) fighting a two-front war, both in the colonies and in Europe

Q: Whose activities were essential to the establishment of a colonial alliance with the French? A) Thomas Paine B) John Adams C) John Dickinson D) Thomas Jefferson E) Benjamin Franklin

Q: The American victory that led to the French alliance occurred at ________. A) Saratoga B) Yorktown C) Breed's Hill D) Philadelphia E) Trenton

Q: The Loyalists were concentrated in _________. A) remote mountainous areas B) the Chesapeake colonies C) the northernmost colonies D) urban areas E) the southernmost colonies

Q: The author of the Declaration of Independence was ________. A) George Washington B) Benjamin Franklin C) Samuel Adams D) Patrick Henry E) Thomas Jefferson

Q: In December 1775, Parliament passed the ________, which cut America off from international commerce. A) Declaratory Act B) Prohibitory Act C) Commerce Act D) Tea Act E) Trade Act

Q: The Suffolk Resolves advocated ________. A) forcible resistance to the Coercive Acts B) the assassination of British tax collectors C) the formation of an American navy D) the repeal of the Stamp Act E) the formation of the Sons of Liberty

Q: England passed the Coercive Acts in response to the ________. A) colonial boycott of the Stamp Act B) Boston Tea Party C) American victory at Saratoga D) Declaratory Act E) Tea Act

Q: The Tea Act of 1773 was passed in order to ________. A) save the East India Company B) raise revenue to pay royal governors' salaries C) punish colonists for the Boston Massacre D) support the stationing of British troops in America E) recover revenue lost by reducing the tax on molasses

Q: Samuel Adams can best be described as a ________. A) pacifier B) compromiser C) genuine revolutionary D) pragmatist E) guerilla fighter

Q: The Boston Massacre ________. A) proved the importance of the British army in the colonies B) raised the possibility of colonial armed resistance C) had little effect on Anglo-colonial relations D) had little support from colonial leaders E) left fifty-three Americans dead

Q: The fundamental issue leading to the Boston Massacre in 1770 was the ________. A) British attempt to enforce the Tea Act B) Boston Tea Party C) passage of the Townshend Acts D) sinking of the Gaspee E) presence of so many British troops in Boston

Q: Which of the following stated Parliament's belief in its own sovereignty? A) Townshend Acts B) Declaratory Act C) Coercive Acts D) Stamp Act E) Sovereignty Act

Q: The boycott movement against the Stamp Act ________. A) had little effect on Great Britain B) mobilized colonial women to action C) ultimately hurt American businessmen more than British D) was opposed by New England businessmen E) was badly organized

Q: The Stamp Act of 1765 affected ________. A) only businessmen and merchants B) primarily colonial manufacturers C) ordinary people, as well as the elite D) only those in direct trade with Great Britain E) notaries and other public officials

Q: The radical American group that first emerged during the Stamp Act crisis was known as ________. A) the Loyalists B) the Sons of Liberty C) the Democratic Republicans D) the Federalists E) Oliver's Raiders

Q: Which prohibited colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains? A) Navigation Act of 1772 B) Proclamation of 1763 C) Stamp Act of 1765 D) Townshend Acts of 1767 E) Settlement Act of 1765

Q: Who was the Delaware Prophet? A) Cotton Mather B) Pontiac C) Charles Townshend D) George Grenville E) Neolin

Q: A major source of information for the colonists was ________. A) newspapers B) books C) church meetings D) the marketplace E) the town crier

Q: According to whose political theory is power dangerous and must be countered by virtue? A) Commonwealthmen B) Whigs C) Tories D) Patriots E) Loyalists

Q: The English political philosopher most often cited by American rebels was ________. A) Thomas Paine B) Edmund Burke C) William Pitt D) John Locke E) David Hume

Q: Which of these was the elder statesmen that was one of the men who negotiated a peace with Britain following the Revolutionary War? A) James Otis B) Samuel Adams C) Benjamin Franklin D) Thomas Jefferson E) James Madison

Q: The central issue in the Anglo-American debate over governance was ________. A) divine sovereignty B) laissez faire C) parliamentary sovereignty D) absolute rule E) colonial sovereignty

Q: George III believed ________. A) Parliament should run the empire B) the monarch should take an active role in government C) the monarch should be a figurehead D) qualified men should run the government E) the monarch should consider parliamentary opinion when making decisions

Q: At the end of the Seven Years' War, American colonists could be best characterized as ________. A) hostile toward the British B) optimistic about the future C) apathetic about colonial-British relations D) eager for independence from Great Britain E) trying to rebuild

Q: Which statement is the best interpretation of this sentence from page 105? "For the British, "˜American" was a way of saying "˜not quite English."" A) The British believed that the colonists could only become truly American if they broke away from the crown. B) The British felt that the colonists needed to import more British goods in order to be considered truly British. C) The British did not perceive the differences among the various colonies and thought all Americans were the same. D) The British regarded colonists not as Englishas the colonists viewed themselvesbut as something a little different. E) The British felt that the colonists no longer wanted to be British and had rejected many of their traditional ways.

Q: How did the increase in British imports to the colonies in the 1700s affect American culture? A) The colonists produced fewer of their own homespun goods, which made them less reliant on old traditions. B) The colonists no longer relied on imports from other countries and became less connected to French and Spanish cultures. C) The same British goods were sold throughout the colonies, which gave colonists a collective background and brought them into greater contact with each other. D) The colonists of different colonies developed interests in different British imports, which led to greater isolation and greater identification with their own region. E) The colonists were introduced to new British traditions through the imports they bought, and lost much of their original American culture.

Q: What did the Great Awakening, intercolonial trade, and the rise of the colonial assemblies have in common? A) They created disdain for England. B) They created a rebellious spirit in America. C) They contributed to a growing sense of shared identity. D) They helped create imperial rivalry between England and France. E) They exacerbated the problems of an already-divided citizenry.

Q: Which was NOT a consequence of the Seven Years' War? A) The war made the colonists more aware of their land. B) The war led to the creation of several new French colonies. C) The war trained a corps of American officers. D) The war revealed British discontent with America's contribution to its own defense. E) The war forced the colonists to cooperate on an unprecedented scale.

Q: Which best describes Benjamin Franklin's main goal in drafting the Albany Plan? A) to organize a council of delegates to coordinate common defense and western expansion B) to propose the dredging of canals that connected Albany with Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence River C) to set up a system of common taxes and tariffs throughout the colonies D) to draft a constitution that freed the colonies from any control by the British crown E) to prepare the colonies for an eventual war of independence with England

Q: One of the most important factors uniting Americans of different colonies into a single political culture was ________. A) the English common law B) cooperative royal governors in between the northern and southern colonies C) their near-monolithic religious beliefs D) a respect for the sovereignty of Parliament E) fear of attack by Indians

Q: By the mid-1700s, the colonial assemblies ________. A) had surrendered most powers to royal assemblies B) were gaining steadily in power C) were able to elect the colonial governors D) were completely independent in their actions from the mother country E) were full of mid-level bureaucrats seeking better patronage jobs