Unit 1 Reading Quiz 2
Multiple Choice- Bubble in the letter of the best answer on the answer sheet provided
1.
In the 1760s, why did the British government more
rigorously enforce tax legislation in North America?
(B.1.g)
a. Increasing colonial resistance to foreign rule
demanded a punitive response.
b. Declining population levels resulted in an
overall decrease in revenue.
c. Economic competition from France
required increased investment in a
commercial fleet.
d. Growth of its colonial possessions resulted
in increased administrative costs.
2.
During the 1760’s and 1770’s the most effective
American tactic in gaining the repeal of the
Stamp and Townshend Acts was? (B.1.g)
a. Tarring and feather British tax agents.
b. Sending petitions to the king and
Parliament.
c. Boycotting British goods.
d. Destroying private property, such as tea, on
which a tax was levied.
3.
4.
Given that only five people died in the Boston
Massacre, why was it labeled a “massacre”? (B.1.g)
a. British commanders ordered troops to
shoot into rioting crowd in an effort to
restore order.
b. The victims were innocent bystanders who
were caught in the barrage of gunfire.
c. The victims had done little to provoke the
confrontational and hostile British troops.
d. Boston radicals sensationalized the incident
to take advantage of heightened tensions.
The most important consequence of the Boston Tea
Party was the? (B.1.g)
a. Failure of other colonies to support
Boston’s action.
b. Opening of negotiations between Britain
and Massachusetts.
c. Reopening of the Port of Boston to foreign
trade.
d. Enactment by Parliament of the Coercive
(Intolerable) Acts.
5.
Why did Americans use guerilla-style warfare against
retreating British troops after the battles at
Lexington and Concord? (B.1.g)
a. Americans had learned in earlier conflicts
the utility of unconventional tactics against
European rules of war
b. Americans adopted the same philosophy
that governed the European military rules
of engagement.
c. American militiamen were vastly
outnumbered by the heavily armed British
soldiers.
d. American field commanders were
unprincipled in their indiscriminate use of
violence against the British.
6.
Thomas Paine’s common Sense ____________?
(B.1.g)
a. Blamed King George III for the colonies’
problems and urged Americans to declare
their independence.
b. Was a call for the abolition of slavery.
c. Insisted that the British allow the colonies
to elect their own representatives to
Parliament.
d. Criticized the weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation.
7.
The Battle of Saratoga resulted in? (B.1.g)
a. An embarrassing defeat for the Continental
Army.
b. An unsuccessful peace overture from Lord
North.
c. France entering the war on the side of the
colonies.
d. Renewed efforts of the Loyalists to enlist
colonial support.
8.
9.
During the Revolutionary War the American victory
over superior British military power was most
attributable to: (B.1.g)
a. Overconfident British generals’ inability to
effectively counter French aid to the
colonists.
b. Vast numbers of British soldiers being
deployed to the western front to counter
the threat from French and Indian forces.
c. The British government’s preoccupation
with managing domestic unrest due to the
influence of French revolutionary ideals.
d. Napoleon’s troops posing a much greater
threat to British imperial sovereignty than
the loss of the North American colonies.
The Treaty of Paris in 1783 stipulated? (B.1.g)
a. British recognition of American
independence.
b. Establishment of the boundaries of the US
from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi
River between the Great Lakes and Spanish
Florida.
c. That Americans honor all British collection
of prewar debts from colonists.
d. All of the above
10. The Declaration of Independence state that? (B.1.h)
a. Men are created unequal.
b. It was not right that a small island should
rule a large continent.
c. People have the right to abolish
governments destructive of their rights.
d. There shall be no taxation without
representation.
11. Under the Articles of Confederation, what was the
major revenue source for the federal government?
(B.1.h)
a. Import duties
b. Land sales
c. Taxes
d. Trade
12. What was the main significance of Shays’ Rebellion?
(B.1.h)
a. It exemplified the adverse impact of
currency laws on the independence of small
farmers.
b. It revealed the inability of the weak central
government to maintain order.
c. It established paper currency as a solution
to economic problems caused by unfair
trade.
d. It suggested merchants’ interests were less
significant than those of the agricultural
class.
13. John Jay believed the Articles of Confederation
needed changes that would “Let Congress legislate.
Let others execute. Let others judge.” Jay’s words
express what constitutional principle? (B.1.i)
a. Bipartisan compromise
b. Democracy
c. Federalism
d. Separation of Powers
14. To prevent power from becoming too concentrated
in one branch of government, the delegates of the
Constitutional Convention incorporated which
feature into the U.S. plan of government? (B.1.i)
a. Due process
b. Bill of Rights
c. Executive privilege
d. Checks and balances
15. Which clause in the Constitution gives Congress the
most general, non-specific powers? (B.1.i)
a. The declare war clause
b. The power to tax clause
c. The Elastic clause
d. The power to create an army clause
16. President Washington urged ratification of the Bill of
Rights to strengthen the rights of individuals. Why
did other politicians support ratification of the Bill of
Rights? (B.1.j)
a. It reaffirmed the supremacy of federal laws
over state laws.
b. It established a system of checks and
balances among the three branches of
government.
c. It calmed the fears of people who believed
the federal government had been given too
much power.
d. It provided a means by which corrupt
government officials could be removed
from office.
17. Which of the following conclusions can most
reasonably be drawn from the events and outcome
of the Whiskey Rebellion? (B.1.j)
a. Social reformers who favored prohibition
realized that rebellion would reduce public
support for their cause.
b. The new government’s ability to suppress
the rebellion demonstrated its power and
authority.
c. Pennsylvania’s inability to avoid rebellion
revealed a significant weakness of the
Confederation government.
d. The landed aristocracy demonstrated its
strength by asserting its unyielding support
for the rebellion.
18. All of the following were aspects of Secretary of the
Treasury Alexander Hamilton’s economic plan
EXCEPT (B.1.j)
a. Assumption of all states debt incurred
during the Revolutionary War
b. Paying off the national debt to encourage
foreign investment in America
c. Establishing a national bank to print money
and handle the nation’s finances
d. Creating the Federal Reserve System
19. Based on Alexander Hamilton’s proposal for a
national bank, which of the following can most
reasonable be inferred about his interpretation of
the U.S. Constitution? (B.1.j)
a. He adhered to a strict conception of the
supreme law.
b. He preferred a decentralized system of
strong state governments.
c. He believed in the concept of implied
powers and a loose interpretation of the
Constitution.
d. He supported a system of checks and
balances.
20. Many critics of the Alien and Sedition Acts held the
viewpoint that states should retain the power to:
(B.1.j)
a. Nullify federal laws that threatened their
sovereignty.
b. Nullify federal laws that violated the Bill of
Rights.
c. Regulate immigration.
d. Regulate interstate commerce.