Chapter 5 Test: The American Revolution

 1.) Which conclusion best explains the importance of the Battle of Bunker Hill?  

• The Americans won the battle, but only because American spies found out British secrets.

• The British suffered a terrible defeat, which proved the Americans were going to win the war.

• The Americans were defeated, but they fought so well that many believed they could eventually win the war.

• The British built forts in the hills around Boston, which had never been tried before, and the forts became an important advantage.

2.) What was one main cause of the British defeat at the Battle of Yorktown?   

• The Americans were determined to get revenge for a defeat at the Battle of Guilford Court House.

• Washington and Lafayette quickly made a plan that left Cornwallis stranded and surrounded.

• Benedict Arnold gave key information to the Americans about the movements of Cornwallis’s men.

• Lafayette’s army of Americans was powerful enough by itself to defeat the weakened British army in Virginia.

3A.) How did the movement called the Enlightenment influence the American Revolution?  

• The Enlightenment thinkers wrote pamphlets about the many ways Great Britain mistreated American colonists before the Revolution.

• The Enlightenment thinkers developed the idea of a social contract, which became the foundation of the new American government.

• The leaders of the Enlightenment movement formed the Second Continental Congress, which argued for independence from Great Britain.

• The leaders of the Enlightenment movement believed a king should have absolute power over his subjects, which is what the colonists fought against.

3B.) What evidence from the text supports the correct response to Part A?  

• “Many European philosophers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries wanted to understand how reason and knowledge could improve people’s lives.”

• “Before this time, most people in Europe believed that kings and queens had a divine right to rule.”

• “This right allowed the monarchs to rule with absolute power over their subjects.”

• “The idea of the social contract is particularly important in the Declaration [of Independence].”

 4A.) How were the British troops different from the American troops?   

• The British troops were rarely paid and often decided to desert, or leave the army.

• The British troops were better prepared than the Americans to fight on all kinds of terrain.

• The British troops were more experienced and had better weapons than the American troops.

• The British troops were supported by taxes on British people, who strongly supported the war.

4B.) What evidence from the text best supports your response?  

• “Britain financed the war by raising taxes on citizens living in Britain.”

• “As a result, it was difficult to keep men from deserting, or leaving the army.”

• “The British soldiers were also better trained and armed than the Americans soldiers.”

• “The Americans took advantage of this British weakness to surprise the British in different kinds of terrain such as the swamps of the south and the forests of the north.”

5.) Which conclusion is best supported by evidence from the text?   

• Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, is the only woman whose account of the American Revolution survives.

• The Marquis de Lafayette, who planned the attack at Yorktown, was the least successful of the Americans’ European allies.

• Efforts from many groups, such as women and African Americans, helped turn the tide of the war in the Americans’ favor.

• Enslaved Africans, such as Peter Salem, chose not to fight in the war because they knew they would not gain their freedom after the war ended.

6.) What evidence from the text best supports the conclusion that spies helped provide valuable information to both sides? Select two options.   

• “Either for religious reasons, or because their families’ businesses depended on British trade, Loyalist men and women wanted reconciliation with Great Britain.”

• “There were also women who worked actively to help create the new United States.”

• “Benedict Arnold was an American general who eventually turned traitor.”

• “Armistead smuggled important information to Lafayette, which helped the Continental Army win the Battle of Yorktown.”

• “After the war, Lafayette helped Armistead win his freedom.”

7.) What evidence from the text best explains why most Native Americans chose to side with Great Britain?   

• “The British promised to protect Native Americans’ land from the Americans who wanted to settle there.”

• “Most of the Iroquois Confederacy, led by Chief Joseph Brant, sided with the British.”

• “The Iroquois eventually lost faith in the British and stopped participating in the war.”

• “However, Americans would continue to regard Native Americans as enemies.”

8.) What event happened first?  

• American and French troops defeat the British at Yorktown.

• The Americans defeat the British in both Battles of Saratoga.

• The Battles of Lexington and Concord take place in Massachusetts.

• The Declaration of Independence is signed