1. Initially, most of the delegates to the Second Continental Congress
a. believed that the colonies would function better without a king.
b. opposed total independence for the colonies.
c. did not want to change the colonies’ relationship with Britain.
d. felt that the colonial economy would be stronger if the colonies declared independence.
The answer is b. Many delegates, particularly those from the middle colonies, were wary of total independence. They believed that government without a monarchical element was unworkable, that the colonies needed British military assistance, and that the economy would be undermined if the colonies declared their independence.
2. The Second Continental Congress chose George Washington to command the Continental army because he was
a. already commanding the soldiers massed around Boston.
b. famed widely for his military prowess.
c. liked most by the delegates.
d. a Virginian.
The answer is d. Delegates to the Second Continental Congress wanted to demonstrate that the war had support outside of New England. Choosing a southern commander was a way to underscore that all colonies were committed to preparing for the possibility of war.
3. Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense argued that
a. the British monarchy was an absurd institution.
b. the British monarchy was a praiseworthy institution.
c. Parliament was an absurd institution.
d. Parliament was a praiseworthy institution.
The answer is a. Thomas Paine believed that the institution of monarchy was ridiculous. He wrote Common Sense to lay out a case for complete independence from Britain and in favor of republican government and the most direct democracy possible.
4. Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence only after removal of
a. statements blaming the king for violence on the frontier.
b. statements proclaiming the king an illegitimate monarch.
c. statements blaming the king for slavery.
d. a declaration of the natural equality of “all men.”
The answer is c. On July 4, 1776, Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, but only after Jefferson’s impassioned statement blaming the king for slavery had been removed. Delegates from Georgia and South Carolina insisted on its removal, having no interest in denouncing slavery, the labor system on which their economies depended.
5. The strength of the colonial militias before the Revolutionary War lay in
a. lengthy engagements.
b. limited engagements.
c. overseas engagements.
d. shooting practice.
The answer is b. Militias were intended to provide protection of local communities. They were not suited for extended wars requiring military campaigns far from home.
6. To raise a strong army for the long term, soldiers who committed for the duration of the war against the British were promised a
a. steady paycheck.
b. good diet.
c. 100–acre land grant.
d. $20 bonus.
The answer is c. Congress offered long–term recruits a sizable postwar land grant in hopes of raising a sufficiently large army to fight the British.
7. Women served in the Continental army, taking charge of
a. the mail.
b. Indian scouts.
c. supply lines.
d. cooking, washing, and nursing.
The answer is d. The British army established a ratio of one woman to every ten men; in the Continental army, the ratio was set at one woman to fifteen men. Close to 20,000 women served during the war, probably most of them wives of men in service. Children tagged along as well, and babies were born in the camps and on the road.
8. As commander in chief, George Washington ruled that black Americans
a. could not be excluded from the Continental army.
b. who served in the army were considered free.
c. could not serve in the Continental army.
d. who were enslaved could serve in the army with the permission of their masters.
The answer is c. Washington, himself a slave owner, decided that blacks would not be accepted in the Continental army. However, as manpower grew short, the northern states began to welcome free blacks into service.
9. Committees of correspondence in patriot communities dismayed loyalists by their
a. ability to tax.
b. neutrality.
c. choice of army draftees.
d. intrusive exercise of excessive and arbitrary power.
The answer is d. Loyalists—and everybody else—were subject to having their homes searched for contraband goods. Many were appalled by this breach of privacy.
10. During the Revolutionary War, many white women
a. fought disguised as men.
b. retreated into housework.
c. demonstrated their patriotism.
d. served in the Continental Congress.
The answer is c. Women were prevented from serving officially in the army or political bodies, but they demonstrated their patriotism by keeping farms and businesses running, discussing politics with one another, and even collecting money for the Continental army.
11. Tories were afraid of
a. Parliament.
b. the monarchy.
c. democratic tyranny.
d. the aristocracy.
The answer is c. Tories, or loyalists, were worried that dissolving the respect subjects held for their king would lead to a society in which all forms of hierarchy were undermined. They believed that patriots were unscrupulous men who were willing to destroy society in order to grab power for themselves.
12. The most visible and dedicated loyalists in the Revolutionary War were seldom
a. merchants.
b. royal officials.
c. northern farmers.
d. conservative lawyers.
The answer is c. People with ties of culture, commerce, or employment to the British government often remained staunch loyalists. They had the most to lose from independence.
13. In the 1777 campaign, a major weakness of General John Burgoyne’s army was
a. its ineptitude.
b. a shortage of cannons.
c. a lack of packhorses.
d. its large size.
The answer is d. The fact that Burgoyne’s army was enormous—there were 9,200 people and 400 horses to feed—meant that it traveled slowly. Also, when the army was delayed south of Fort Ticonderoga, its supply lines were stretched severely.
14. The goal of the British strategy in 1777, which began with Burgoyne’s capture of Fort Ticonderoga, was to
a. capture Charleston.
b. isolate New England from the rest of the colonies.
c. enlist the help of Indian tribes.
d. capture seaports and thus ensure supply lines.
The answer is b. The British wanted to isolate New England from the rest of the colonies by taking control of the Hudson River. Burgoyne’s capture of Fort Ticonderoga was the first step toward capturing Albany, near the intersection of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers.
15. After the second battle of Saratoga, General Burgoyne
a. committed suicide.
b. surrendered.
c. retreated.
d. was promoted.
The answer is b. After winning the first battle of Saratoga despite significant losses, Burgoyne lost an additional 600 men and most of his cannons in the second battle of Saratoga, and he surrendered to American general Horatio Gates.
16. The most crucial support the French provided to the American side in the Revolutionary War was
a. a steady supply of specie.
b. agricultural goods.
c. divisions of soldiers.
d. the French navy.
The answer is d. The French, long–standing archrivals of the British, provided the Americans with many important kinds of help, including weapons and military advisers. However, the French navy made it possible for the Americans to challenge Britain’s transatlantic shipment of supplies and troops.
17. After the French entered the Revolutionary War in 1778, one of the few British leaders wishing to continue the conflict was
a. the commander of the British navy.
b. King George III.
c. Lord North.
d. General Burgoyne.
The answer is b. France’s entrance into the war made the fight much more difficult and the outcome far less certain. Although many highly placed officials and advisers counseled ending the war, King George was determined to crush the rebellion.
18. In its southern campaign, the British army quickly subdued
a. Georgia and Virginia.
b. Georgia and South Carolina.
c. South Carolina and Virginia.
d. Virginia and Delaware.
The answer is b. The British occupied Savannah and Augusta, Georgia, with little trouble. Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered after a five–week siege.
19. The British army’s strategy worked in 1780 in part because
a. the loyalists were a strong and coherent force.
b. the French and American troops were arguing among themselves.
c. Benedict Arnold furnished information about American troop movements and supplies.
d. Benedict Arnold had been given a command at West Point.
The answer is c. Benedict Arnold was an American general of great talent, but he believed that he never got his fair share of honor or financial reward. In 1779, he began negotiating with the British, offering to trade information for money.
20. In the peace treaty that ended the Revolutionary War, Indians were
a. given reservation lands.
b. treated as full negotiators.
c. not officially recognized as players in the war.
d. assigned to land in Canada.
The answer is c. The Indians were not consulted in the peace negotiations that produced the Treaty of Paris. Their lands were given over to the Americans as if they were uninhabited, and many Indians were displaced from their ancestral homelands.
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