Unit 2 Flashcards
Describe the British govt’s attempts to meet its war debt following the Great War for Empire
Parliament increased import taxes on items used by the poor and middling classes such as sugar and beer (excise tax)
What percentage of the average American colonists’ income in the 1760s was typically spent on taxes
20%
How did Britain’s skyrocketing national debt affect its government in England and America in the 1760s
the need for higher taxes spurred Britain to increase the size and power of its bureaucracy in England and America
Why did the British sent 7,500 troops to North America after the end of the Great War for Empire in 1763?
- SUMMARY: French colony is new=rebellion, Colonists no longer threatened by French Canada=no loyalty, Native Americans=threat because Pontiac’s rebellion overwhelmed Britain’s frontier, and Land Hungry Whites defying Proclamation of 1763 and crossing Appalachian*
1. Ministers who served under George III feared a possible rebellion by 60,000 French residents of Canada (Britain’s new colony)
2. British politicians worried about the colonist’s loyalty now that they weren’t united by the threat from French Canada
3. Native Americans were a concern, since Pontiac’s Rebellion had nearly overwhelmed Britain’s frontier forts
4. Only a substantial military force would deter land-hungry whites from defying the Proclamation of 1763 and settling west of the Appalachian Mountains
Which of the following was part of British Parliament’s effort to govern the colonies after the Great War for Empire ended in 1763?
Sugar Act, Vice-Admiralty Court, Stamp Act, Quartering Act. Heavy taxation. As colonies were defended in war, they should share in cost of empire.
George Grenville conceived the Sugar Act of 1764 to replace which of the following acts
Molasses Act
George Grenville designed the Sugar Act of 1764 to accomplish which of the following?
Lower tax on trade with Dutch and French, making it more attractive to colonies and therefore making $ for empire. Also made smuggling a military crime, set up Vice-Admiralty court. Up until Sugar Act, smuggling was tried under friendly jury+judge. Under V.A., you’re sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia to be tried.
The colonists’ real objections to the Sugar Act stemmed from which of the following?
“Contrary to a fundamental Principal of Constitution: all taxes out to originate with the people.”
On what basis did the American colonists object to the vice-admiralty courts in which violators of the Sugar Act were tried?
John Adams, when defending John Hancock on a charge of smuggling argued V.A. diminished this equality by “degrad[ing] every American… below the rank of an Englishman.”
The Stamp Act was instituted by Parliament in the colonies in 1765; it was
A tax to cover part of cost of keeping British troops in America. Required tax stamp on all printed items- bore more heavily on the rich (charged more for lawyer’s license)
How did British politicians respond to the American’s cry of “no taxation without representation”?
Said they had virtual representation since some of Parliament’s members were transatlantic (even though colonies didn’t vote for Parliament). If you want to be a British citizen, pay taxes. 2 generations of British citizens have paid 20% tax to support America
Which of the following statements characterizes responses to the planned Stamp Act?
Benjamin Franklin: If you chuse to tax us, give us Members in your Legislature, and let us be one people.
Parliament: You have virtual representation
Colonial leaders: What the fuck Benjamin, we’re in the US. How the fuck are we gonna be going back n forth in ships to the Mother Country for the Legislature of the Nation. Ship rides take years and people die???
House of Commons: Fuck you Benjamin. 205-49, yes let’s do the god damn Stamp Act.
At the same time that Parliament imposed the Stamp Act, it also passed the Quartering Act, which required
Colonial governments to provide barracks and food for British troops
Which of the following statements describes the Stamp Act Congress, which was held in New York in 1765?
- They said that Stamp Act and Sugar Act caused colonies to lose rights and liberties, especially the right to trial by jury. Common Law and Magna Carta.
- Colonies should be represented in Parliament- no taxation without representation.
- Only thing parliament should do is regulate.
Americans responded to the Stamp Act by comparing it to which past event?
Patrick Henry compared George III to Charles I, whose tyranny had lead to his overthrow and execution in the 1640s (these remarks bordered on treason)
Members of activist groups, such as the Sons of Liberty, were typically which of the following?
artisans, shopkeepers, poor laborers, and seamen.
Which of the following factors was among those that motivated many merchants, artisans, and journeymen to protest against the Stamp Act?
feared that imperial reform would undermine political liberty. they were young men, who, especially if were drinking, were quick to violence.
Why did the British General Gage refuse to use his military force to protect the stamps that were to be used once the Stamp Act took effect?
he believed that military force would disperse the protests but spark an insurrection
In the 1760s and early 1770s, lawyers and other educated Americans used common-law arguments mainly to
assert the colonists’ rights and liberties as Englishmen.
John Dickinson’s Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania was a response to which of the following policies?
either stamp or townshend act, god only knows
Patriots’ widely publicized use of natural rights arguments to protest British actions in the 1760s inspired which of the following?
African American slaves to petition the Massachusetts legislature for the abolition of slavery
In which of the following ways did the Rockingham ministry in Britain fashion a compromise to the Stamp Act crisis in 1766?
it repealed the Stamp Act, lowered the molasses tax, and crafted the Declaratory Act
The Townshend Acts of 1767 imposed duties on which of the following goods?
paper, paint, glass, and tea
Which aspect of the Townshend Acts posed a great danger to American political autonomy, according to the colonists?
the use of revenue (generated by the act) to pay royal officials.
How did the Daughters of Liberty contribute to the American boycott of British goods in the late 1760s?
promoted non-importation and made and wore homespun cloth
Which of the following statements most describes the colonial boycott efforts of 1768–1769?
support quickly emerged from small port cites then spread to major population centers
How did the authorities in Great Britain respond to the American boycott of 1768–1769?
dispatched British troops to Boston (troops sent by Lord Hillsborough, secretary of state for American affairs)
How did the Stamp Act crisis of 1765 compare to the crisis over the Townshend duties in 1768?
SA: US resistance to taxation create an argument in parliament; TA: produced a British plan for military
For which of the following reasons did the British government resolve to punish the boycotters and enforce the Townshend Duties by 1769?
British merchants and manufacturers petitioned Parliament to repeal the Townshend Duties (they were hit hard by the boycott)
In the decade before the American Revolution, the colonists’ achieved the greatest effect by using which of the following means of protest?
boycotts
Which of the following statements describes the Boston Massacre, which took place on March 5, 1770?
five Bostonians were shot and killed by British troops who were later cleared of the crime
By 1770, after five years of crisis and debate over American sovereignty,
outspoken colonial leaders had repudiated Parliament and claimed equality for their own assemblies under the king
Which Patriot leader persuaded Bostonians to create the first committee of correspondence?
Samuel Adams
Which of the following was the purpose of the Tea Act imposed by Parliament on the colonies in May 1773?
The british needed to bail out the financially strapped British East India Company
Why did radical Patriots in the colonies object to the Tea Act of 1773?
saw it as a bribe to eliminate colonial tax resistance
The 1774 Coercive Acts applied to which of the following colonies?
Massachusetts (only)
Why did New Englanders resent the Quebec Act of 1774?
it recognized Catholicism as the official religion of Quebec
Which of the following describes the First Continental Congress of 1774?
it united representatives from the colonies to show a combined authority to Great Britain
At the First Continental Congress in 1774, New England delegates advocated which of the following plans?
political union and defensive military preparations
Which of the following actions did the First Continental Congress ultimately decide to implement in 1774?
threatening to cut off almost all American exports in Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies
Which of the following actions did Lord North’s government take in response to the First Continental Congress in 1775?
demanded that Americans acknowledge Parliamentary supremacy
Which of the following statements characterizes the participation of farmers in the Patriot movement by 1774?
angered by high taxes and Britain’s demands that their sons do military service (backed by rebel cause)
Why did Chesapeake slave owners increasingly rally to the Patriot cause?
feared the British would seize control of courts and assemblies in the South
Which of the following individuals would have been an unlikely Loyalist in 1776?
a yeomen farmer
Which of the following statements describes the historical significance of the April 1776 Battle of Lexington and Concord?
the bloodshed that took place made further compromise impossible
Which of the following events took place during the Second Continental Congress in 1775?
George Washington became head of the Continental army
Who led the moderate faction at the Second Continental Congress and won approval of a petition expressing loyalty to George III and asking for a repeal of oppressive parliamentary legislation?
John Dickenson
What prompted many southern yeomen and tenant farmers finally to support independence from Britain in 1775?
Virginia royal governors promised to free any slaves who joined the loyalist
Why was the popular pamphlet entitled Common Sense significant?
republicanism convinced the Americans to fight for independence
Which of the following outcomes resulted from the Continental Congress’ approval of the Declaration of Independence?
The loyalists and anti-independence people left the congress
England had a clear advantage at the outset of the Revolutionary War, but Americans had which of the following factors operating in their favor?
motivated military that was familiar with the land
Which of the following statements characterizes the relative military strengths of the British and Patriot forces during the Revolutionary War?
british had loyalists and Indians on their side
Which of these events occurred at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776?
British forces badly beat American forces (outnumbered and surrounded the troops had to escape to Manhattan)
What was significant about George Washington’s leading of his troops across the Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776?
surprised the enemy and gave AM first real win
Which of the following statements describes British military strategy during the first two years of the Revolutionary War?
wanted to show they were a superior power and tried to get the rebels to surrender
Which of the following describes the Continental army during the Revolutionary War?
most of recruits were poor or foreigners, and the army gradually became well disciplined
Why was the Battle of Saratoga historically significant?
ensured the success of American diplomatic efforts to persuade the French into a military alliance with the US
Patriot women contributed to the war effort in the 1770s by
increasing production of homespun cloth, making it a fashion. Do-it-yourself rather than relying on Britain’s goods
Which of the following factors posed a major problem for the colonies during the American Revolution?
high prices and scarcity of goods
Which of the following statements describes the American Revolution’s impact on civilians in areas that saw military conflicts?
Both British and American troops were known to loot farms and harass and rape civilian women
To finance the war during its first two years, the new American state governments relied primarily on
printing large quantities of paper money (influx)
Which of the following was a consequence of the large increase of paper currency in circulation in the states during the Revolutionary War years?
paper money fell in value to almost worthless
How did the finances of the Continental Congress compare to those of the states during the first two years of the Revolutionary War?
both lacked income and issued paper money in an attempt to sustain themselves
Which of the following statements characterizes events at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777–1778?
many soldiers fled or died, and the survivors (trained by Baron von Steuben) of the army emerged as a much stronger force
France gave serious consideration to an alliance with the rebel colonies primarily because it regarded the war as an opportunity to
get revenge on Britain (defeat in F&I war and losing Canada)
The Treaty of Alliance that the French and Americans signed in 1778 included which of the following stipulations?
neither side would sign a separate peace that failed to recognize American independence
How did the British respond after their loss at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777?
tried to negotiate settlement with the americans
What spurred the British Parliament to repeal the Tea Act in 1778?
parliament hoped it would aid Britain’s efforts to seek a negotiated peace with the Continental Congress
The British strategy in its military campaign in the South in 1778 relied on which of the following factors?
a plan to use Loyalists to administer the territories they expected to capture
Through which of the following actions did Sir Henry Clinton launch his southern campaign in 1778?
capturing Savannah, Georgia, and mobilizing hundreds of black slaves
Which event turned the tide of the war after Britain’s series of victories in the South in the late 1770s?
French troops arrived 1780 (in Newport, Rhode Island)
Which of the following battles marked the end of the American Revolution in 1781?
yorktown
Which of the following factors made a critical contribution to the outcome of the Battle of Yorktown in 1781?
Washington’s fake attack on Manhattan while French troops set on Virginia
Why did the British surrender to the Americans in the Battle of Yorktown in 1781?
outnumbered and cut off from reinforcement or retreat by sea
Which of the following statements explains the Patriots’ successful revolution against Great Britain?
about one-third of the population strongly supported the war and was willing to finance the fighting through inflation
Which of the following factors explains George Washington’s success as an American military leader?
ability to maintain the support of the Continental Congress, state govs, and his army
Why did British and American diplomats take nearly two years to conclude a peace treaty after the British surrendered at Yorktown?
France and Spain stalled hoping for a major victory/conquest before the official peace
Despite the favorable terms Americans achieved in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, they could not ultimately secure which of the following?
forgiveness of their debts to british merchants
Pennsylvania’s constitution of 1776 contained which of the following provisions?
right of all taxpaying men to hold office
Which of the following statements characterized Pennsylvania’s democratic constitution of 1776?
alarmingly radical elements
