APUSH Daily Question
2015-16
Question 1:
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Topic – Indian Civilizations

When Columbus arrived in the New World, the most advanced Indian civilizations
existed in which region(s)?
A) the Caribbean Islands
B) the eastern woodlands of North America
C) Mexico and Peru
D) the Pacific Northwest
E) the Southwest desert of what is now the U.S

Answer: C) Mexico and Peru

Explanation: The Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru had developed the most
advanced Indian civilizations when Spanish explorers arrived. Each used
monumental architecture in cities with large stone buildings. The Aztecs used
pictographic writing while the Incas utilized a knot-tying system called quipus for
accounting and perhaps communication.
Question 2:

Topic – North American Indians

All but which of the following statements are true about North American Indian cultures
before the arrival of Europeans?

A) the Indians of the Great Plains used horses to follow buffalo herds
B) there was great diversity in diet depending on the region
C) some Indian cultures in the Southwest desert built stone dwellings in cliffs
D) some cultures placed decision-making power in the hands of the women of the tribe
E) Mississippi Valley civilizations built large dirt mounds, probably for ceremonial
purposes

Answer: A) the Indians of the Great Plains used horses to follow buffalo herds

Explanation: Until the arrival of the Spanish and their horses, Plains Indians followed
buffalo herds on foot.
Question 3:

Topic: Virginia and Plymouth Colonies

Which of the following did the 17th century settlers in both Virginia and Plymouth
have in common?

A) both sought religious freedom
B) both developed self-governing practices early on in their settlement
C) both were seeking economic wealth as their prime motivation
D) both utilized indentured servants as a major part of their economic model
E) both had more female than male settlers
Answer: B) both developed self-governing practices early on in their settlement
Explanation: While quite different in many ways, the early settlements in both
Virginia and Plymouth developed self-government early on in their existence. The
House of Burgesses was established in Virginia in 1619, while the Mayflower Compact
was agreed to by Plymouth's settlers even before they reached land in 1620.
Question 4

Topic: New England Puritans

All but which of the following are accurate statements about the Puritans who
settled in New England in the 17th century?
A) they still considered themselves English
B) they looked primarily to the Bible for guidance in daily affairs
C) while non-Puritans were sometimes tolerated in their midst, behavioral
expectations were still strict
D) their houses of worship were plain with no stain-glassed windows or organs
E) they rejected the Calvinist doctrines of predestination and election

Answer: E) they rejected the Calvinist doctrines of predestination and election
Explanation: Puritans firmly believed in the Calvinist doctrines of predestination and
election and as characterized in John Winthrop's "City Upon a Hill" sermon, saw
themselves as God's light in a sinful world.
Question 5

Topic: Slaves and servants

Which of the following best characterizes the position of indentured servants
and slaves in the American colonies in the 17th century?
A) their legal rights were identical
B) both slaves and indentured servants could usually end their service to
masters after a set period
C) both assisted in the economic advancement of Southern colonies
D) both were more common in urban than rural settings
E) both came to the colonies against their will

Answer: C) both assisted in the economic advancement of Southern colonies
Explanation: The American Southern colonies became sources of wealth for
English investors mainly because of the profitability of tobacco, the cultivation of
which required many laborers. Both indentured servants and slaves were
employed in the South, though eventually slavery became the dominant source of
cheap labor in most colonies.
Question 6

Topic: Great Awakening

During the Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s
A) the Roman Catholic Church increased its influence in the colonies
B) clergymen, particularly Anglicans, were universal in their support for the revivals, which
were often emotional and had both blacks and whites in the audiences
C) preachers rejected the traditional Puritan notion that sinful men were totally dependent for
salvation on the mercy of a pure, all-powerful God
D) a new emphasis on personal piety (religious reverence) was featured in sermons
E) the witch-hunting of the 1690s was condemned vigorously
Answer: D) a new emphasis on personal piety (religious reverence) was featured in sermons
Explanation: The Great Awakening was the first of many American religious revivals and was most
prominent among Congregational, Presbyterian, and Baptist congregations throughout the American
colonies. Emotional preachers, including George Whitefield, emphasized personal piety while
maintaining virtually all of the theology of previous Puritan ministers. Critics, many in Anglican
churches, were troubled by both the emotional appeals of the revivals and the integrated audiences that
followed the preachers. The Great Awakening resulted in the creation of new colleges, including
Princeton. With its itinerant, independent preachers who were not ordained by any official church
hierarchy, two long-term results were a weakening of respect for religious authority and more
democratic churches. Both factors became important during the American Revolution.
Question 7

Topic: French and Indian War

All but which are true of the French and Indian War?
A) Britain won the crucial final battle
B) one cause of concern for Britain was French aid provided to Indians in raids on
colonists in the Ohio River Valley
C) as a result of the war, Britain received a vast amount of North American
territory
D) George Washington became famous in the colonies for his military leadership,
though at one point he was captured by the French in a British defeat
E) the British victory resulted in lower taxes for American colonists
Answer: E) the British victory resulted in lower taxes for American colonists
Explanation: While success in the French & Indian War led to a massive amount of
new territory to Britain, the war also brought a huge debt, for which Parliament
turned to the American colonies to help defray with new taxes. This increased tension
between Britain and the colonists, who increasingly saw the acts of Parliament as
unfair and punitive.
Question 8
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Topic: Sugar Act

The 1764 Sugar Act stated "... it is just and necessary that a revenue should be
raised ... for defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the
same [colonies]." Which of the following is NOT true of the Sugar Act?
A) it replaced the earlier Molasses Act which was not enforced effectively
B) its purpose of raising revenue was not common for British acts impacting the
colonies
C) its impact was felt equally throughout the colonies as all imported molasses
D) some colonists became concerned about Parliament's goal in authorizing this
type of tax
E) it actually lowered the tax on molasses but had stronger enforcement
measures
Answer: C) its impact was felt equally throughout the colonies as all imported molasses
Explanation: New England especially suffered losses from the Sugar Act because the
stricter enforcement made it riskier to smuggle molasses. The relative nonenforcement of the earlier Molasses Act was an example of the benign neglect which
made it difficult for British authorities to collect taxes. The Sugar Act's purpose of
raising revenue concerned many colonists who feared an increase in colonial
restrictions by Parliament.
Question 9

Topic: Stamp Act Disagreements

Which of the following best characterizes the debate that emerged as a result of the
tensions caused by the imposition of the Stamp Act?
A) virtual vs. actual representation in Parliament
B) separation of powers vs. dictatorial rule
C) monarchs vs. legislatives bodies
D) town meeting democracy vs. republican democracy
E) church vs. state
Answer: A) virtual vs. actual representation in Parliament
Explanation: The Stamp Act crisis helped focus the question of whether the colonists
were represented in Parliament and thus participated in the decision to pass the Stamp
Act in 1765. According to those who supported the concept of virtual representation, the
colonists' interests were present in Parliament as they were residents of the British
Empire. Those supporting actual representation contended that only those who had
chosen members of Parliament were truly represented. This became an important
constitutional issue as anti-British attitudes hardened in the American colonies.
Question 10

Topic: Intolerable Acts

Which of the following were parts of the Coercive (or Intolerable Acts) that Parliament passed
to punish Massachusetts?
I. Quebec Act, effectively establishing Roman Catholicism as the state religion of
Quebec
II. Tea Act, which actually lowered the cost of British tea
III. Quartering Act, which allowed British soldiers to be housed in colonial homes
IV. Boston Port Bill, which closed Boston Harbor
V. Massachusetts Government Act, which annulled the colonial charter
A) I, II, III and IV only
B) I, III, IV, and V only
C) II, IV, and V only
D) I, II, IV and V only
E) all were part of the Coercive Acts
Answer: C) II, IV, and V only
Explanation: The British passed the Coercive Acts (known as the Intolerable Acts in the colonies)
to punish the residents of Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, which in turn was a response to
the Tea Act of 1773. One result was the closing of the port until damages had been paid, and
another was the suspension of Massachusetts's charter, which gave the crown royal authority over
colonists. The Coercive Acts resulted in a wave of support for Bostonians from other colonists.
Question 11

Topic: Stamp Act

The Stamp Act…
A) had its greatest impact on farmers and backcountry residents
B) was designed to raise duties on imported goods
C) fees could be paid in colonial paper currency
D) provided the basis for the first significant joint colonial response to
any British measure
E) remained in force until the Tea Act was passed in 1773
Answer: D) provided the basis for the first significant joint colonial
response to any British measure
Explanation: Parliament passed the Stamp Act to reduce the debt incurred
during the French & Indian War and to pay for soldiers in the colonies. Most
importantly, it provided a basis for a combined colonial response to the
new policy of taxing the colonists directly to pay for services. A Stamp Act
Congress was called and boycotts took place throughout the colonies.
Question 12

Topic: Common Sense

What is the main theme of this passage from Thomas Paine's Common Sense?
I have heard it asserted by some, that as America hath flourished under her
former connection with Great Britain, that the same connection is necessary
towards her future happiness, and will always have the same effect. Nothing
can be more fallacious than this kind of argument. We may as well assert,
that because a child has thrived upon milk, that it is never to have meat; or
that the first twenty years of our lives is to become a precedent for the next
twenty. But even this is admitting more than is true, for I answer roundly,
that America would have flourished as much, and probably much more, had no
European power had any thing to do with her.
A) a continent should not be ruled by an island
B) King George III is a tyrant
C) the American colonies are an asylum for mankind
D) monarchical government is incompatible with democracy
E) while the colonies may have benefited from British control at one
time, that time has past
Question 12 contd.

Topic: Common Sense
Answer: E) while the colonies may have benefited from British control
at one time, that time has past
Explanation: When Common Sense was published in 1776, it helped those urging
separation from Britain by presenting a number of arguments. Paine logically
described the reasons why the American colonies would be better off if they were
free from British control.
Question 13

Topic: Revolutionary War
Which of the following statements about the Revolutionary War
is NOT accurate?
A) Boston remained under the control of the colonial forces for most of
the war
B) major cities, such as New York and Philadelphia, were occupied by
British forces during the war
C) British strategy focused on controlling the South following the
debacle at Saratoga
D) French assistance was limited and too late to provide significant help
for the colonial troops
E) the Continental Congress proved inconsistent and ineffective in
financing Washington's efforts
Answer: D) French assistance was limited and too late to provide significant
help for the colonial troops
Explanation: French support, in money, naval strength, and troops
provided enormous help to the American colonist cause, particularly in the
final battle of Yorktown.

Question 14

Topic: Declaration of Independence

Which of the following is NOT from the Declaration of Independence?
A) "these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States"
B) "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal"
C) "there is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an
island"
D) "A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to
be the ruler of a free people."
E) "The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and
usurpations“
Answer: C) "there is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by
an island“
Explanation: The Second Continental Congress asked Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of
Independence. Building on the thinking of John Locke ("life, liberty, and property") and Thomas
Paine, Jefferson crafted a reasoned and logical set of arguments for American independence.
Jefferson particularly focused on the abuses of King George III, rather than those of Parliament.
Option C is from Common Sense.