Events Leading to the American Revolutionary War

Why did the British government introduce new taxes on its North American colonies in the early 1760s?

• to raise money to buy land from American Indians

• to pay for defending the colonies from the Spanish

• to punish the colonies for printing their own money

• to repay war debts from the French and Indian War

Which of the following statements represented American colonists' opposition to the British Stamp Act of 1765?

• "No new laws without due process"

• "No taxation without representation"

• "No billing without notice"

• "No direct taxation without reason"

Leading up to the American Revolution, how did many colonists protest British rules that they thought were unfair?

• They destroyed British forts and warships.

• They refused to buy goods made in Britain.

• They attacked Britain's colonies in Canada.

• They sailed to Britain to vote in Parliament.

After the French and Indian War, why did the British pass new laws taxing the colonies, such as the Stamp Act?

• The British wanted to punish the colonists for starting the Revolutionary War.

• The British wanted to use the money to rebuild damaged farms.

• The British spent a lot of money protecting the colonists during the war, so the British felt like the colonists should have to pay back the debt.

• The British needed the money to train and supply more colonial soldiers.

Which right did leaders in colonial America want?

• freedom from taxation

• representation in government

• the right to not be jailed without a trial

• freedom to practice any religion

Read the passage below and answer the question(s) that follow. Look at Benjamin Franklin's political cartoon created during the French and Indian war. Then answer the question that follows.

• Colonial Patriots were traitors that should be killed like snakes.

• The colonies had to remain strong to beat the British.

• The U.S. Army had enough men, but the British needed more men to join them.

• The colonies had to join together to beat the British.

Who is the author of the Declaration of Independence?

• Thomas Paine

• William Bradford

• Thomas Jefferson

• George Washington

A basic belief established by the Declaration of Independence is that government

• has natural rights and acts on those rights as it sees fit.

• is formed by the people and gets its power from the Creator.

• is formed by the people and gets its power from the people.

• has unlimited power and is more important than the people.

Look at the painting. Then answer the question that follows. The painting shows Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams working on an important document in 1776. What document are they working on?

• the Articles of Confederation

• the Bill of Rights

• the Declaration of Independence

• the Great Compromise

Based on the Declaration of Independence, what is something people can do when the government violates their natural rights, like "no taxation without representation"?

• The citizens and the government should work together to reach a compromise.

• The people should get rid of the government and create a new one.

• Citizens have no rights; therefore, they are stuck with their current government.

• The people destroy their government and rule themselves.